THE      LIFE 


OP 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM  VON  STEUBEN. 

MAJOR  GENEPwAL  IN  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  ARMY. 
BT 

FKIEDEICH    KAPR 


'Omnia  reliquit  servaro  rempublican." — Motto  of  the  Cincinnati, 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION 

BY 

GEORGE    BANCROFT. 


NEW    YORK • 

MASON      BROTHERS. 

18  5  9. 


e* 


c$& 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S59,  by 

MASON     BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Distrioi  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 

New  York. 


*?of 


4 


STEREOTYPED   BY  PRINTED     BY 

T.  B.  Smith  &  Son,  C.  A.  Alvobd, 

82  &  84   Beeknmn  Street.  15  Yandcwater  Street. 


TO 

o  r 

FRIED  RICH     EN  GELS, 

I. ATE    MAJOR    GENEUAL    IK    TUB    PRUSSIAN    AMY,    AND    COMMANDANT    OF 
COLOGNE    ON    THE    RHINE, 

AN   HONEST   MAN,    A   BRAVE   SOLDIER   AND    A   TRUE   FRIEND, 

THIS     VOL  IT  MP]     IS     DEDICATED 

BY    HIS   GRATEFUL    SON-IN-LAAY, 

THE    AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  memory  of  Steuben  has  many  claims  upon 
the  present  generation.  To  the  cause  of  our  coun- 
try in  the  times  of  its  distress,  he,  at  the  sacrifice  of 
a  secure  career,  devoted  the  experience  and  skill, 
which  had  been  the  fruit  of  long  years  of  service 
under  the  greatest  master  of  the  art  of  war  of  that 
day.  He  rendered  the  inestimable  benefit  of  in- 
troducing a  better  rule  into  the  discipline  of  the 
American  army,  and  stricter  accountability  in  the 
distribution  of  military  stores.  He  served  under 
our  flag  with  implicit  fidelity,  with  indefatigable  in- 
dustry, and  a  courage  that  shrunk  from  no  danger. 
His  presence  was  important  both  in  the  camp  and  on 
the  field  of  battle ;  from  the  huts  of  Valley  Forge 
to  Yorktown;  and  he  remained  with  us  till  his 
death. 

Happily,  a  biographer  has  at  last  risen  up,  worthy 
and  able  to  do  justice  to  Steuben  by  a  full  sketch  of 
the  eventful  story  of  his  life.  The  interesting  and 
well-written  work  of  Friedrich  Kapp,  which  is  now 
laid  before  the  public,  has  been  prepared  with  a  care- 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

ful  and  conscientious  study  of  the  best  materials. 
The  author  has  brought  to  his  undertaking  the 
scholarly  habits  and  criticism  of  the  learned  men 
of  Germany,  and  has  left  nothing  within  his  reach 
unconsidered.  We  have  in  his  production  the  most 
complete  and  trusty  account  of  Steuben's  career, 
drawn  directly  from  contemporary  sources,  authenti- 
cated by  the  use  of  the  original  papers  of  Steuben 
himself.  Neither  has  the  zeal  of  the  biographer  led 
him  to  exaggerate  the  hero's  merit ;  he  is  painted  to 
the  life  with  his  defects  and  his  great  qualities.  Full 
justice  is  also  rendered  to  Washington  ;  but  of  the 
character  and  career  of  Lafayette,  I  have  formed  an 
estimate  widely  different  from  that  of  the  author  of 
this  biography. 

It  is  not  merely  as  the  memorial  of  an  eminent 
general  of  the  Revolution,  and  a  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  the  history  of  American  independence,  that 
this  work  has  claims  to  consideration.  It  deserves 
special  attention  as  a  just  tribute  by  one  of  our 
German  fellow-citizens  to  the  greatest  military  com- 
mander of  German  origin  who  took  part  in  the  vindi- 
cation of  our  liberties.  The  Americans  of  that  day, 
who  were  of  German  birth  or  descent,  formed  a  large 
part  of  the  population  of  the  United  States ;  they 
can  not  well  be  reckoned  at  less  than  a  twelfth  of  the 
whole,  and  perhaps  formed  even  a  larger  proportion 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

of  the  insurgent  people.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolution,  we  hear  little  of  them,  not  from  their 
want  of  zeal  in  the  good  cause,  but  from  their 
modesty.  They  kept  themselves  purposely  in  the 
background,  leaving  it  to  those  of  English  origin  to 
discuss  the  violation  of  English  liberties  and  to  decide 
whether  the  time  for  giving  battle  had  come.  But 
when  the  resolution  was  taken,  no  part  of  the  coun- 
try was  more  determined  in  its  patriotism  than 
the  German  counties  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 
Neither  they  nor  their  descendants  have  laid  claim 
to  all  the  praise  that  was  their  due.  So  that  the 
effort  to  exhibit  the  achievements  of  one  of  their  race 
in  a  clearer  light  deserves  a  willing  recognition. 

Another  consideration  enhances  the  interest  of  the 
subject.  The  number  of  those  who  have  emigrated 
from  Germany  has  increased,  till  the  intelligence,  the 
culture,  as  well  as  the  people  and  the  aspirations  of 
Germany  find  here  their  representatives.  It  requires 
no  prophetic  eye  to  discern  that  the  German  mind,  as 
represented  by  our  German  fellow-citizens,  blending 
with  the  other  elements  which  go  to  constitute  the 
American  people,  is  destined  to  exert  a  marked  in- 
fluence on  America.  The  American  Revolution, — 
having  been  wantonly  opposed  by  a  few  of  the  minor 
princes,  and  loudly  supported  by  the  sympathies  of 
Lessing,  Klopstock,  Schiller,  Frederick  the  Great, 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

and  so  many  more  of  that  day, — is  indissolubly  con- 
nected with  the  traditions  of  central  Europe.  This 
circumstance,  aided  by  a  natural  pride  and  interest 
in  the  large  body  of  men  of  German  descent  in  the 
United  States,  has  exercised,  and  is  destined  yet 
more  to  exercise,  a  moulding  influence  on  the  thought, 
the  political  theories  and  institutions  of  Germany. 
The  career  of  Steuben,  who  was  born  in  Prussia,  and 
took  part  in  the  great  Seven  Years'  War  fo/kGerman 


liberty,  before  he  became  the  fellow-lab  or  e|£bf  Wash- 
ington, is  a  ground  on  which  these  sympathies  may 
come  together;  as  he  did  not  live  to  that  period 
when  our  country  heaped  just  rewards  upon  the  sur- 
viving soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  our  debt  of  grati- 
tude is  best  acknowledged  by  a  monument  to  his 
fame;  and  men  of  German  origin  on  the  Rhine  or 
the  Oder,  on  the  James  river  or  the  Ohio,  on  the 
Mohawk  or  the  Missouri,  may  join  with  the  rest  of 
us  in  approving  an  honest  and  hearty  record  of  the 
worth  and  services  of  Steuben. 

GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

New  York,  February  14,  1859. 


PEEFACB 


The  following  pages  constitute  the  first  attempt  that  has 
ever  been  made  at  a  complete  biography  of  General  Yon 
Steuben.  In  submitting  them  to  the  American  public,  I  flat- 
ter myself  that  my  work  will  not  be  considered  superfluous, 
and  that  it  will  be  found  to  contain  a  considerable  store  of 
valuable  and  hitherto  unpublished  matter  connected  with  the 
internal  history  of  the  American  Revolution. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  publishing 
an  historical  work,  were  much  more  serious  for  a  foreigner,  to 
whom  to  think  and  write  in  a  language  not  his  own  is  difficult 
enough,  than  for  a  native  of  America.  Nevertheless,  from 
the  moment  I  commenced  the  work,  I  have  not  allowed  any 
sacrifice  of  time  to  deter  me  from  reviving,  by  a  description 
of  his  life,  the  memory  of  one  whose  participation  in  the 
achievement  of  the  independence  and  freedom  of  this  coun- 
try has  been  so  distinguished  and  meritorious  as  that  of  Steu- 
ben. 

I  am  too  well  aware  of  the  imperfections  and  advantages 
of  this  book,  to  allow  a  false  modesty  to  prevent  my  alluding 
to  them.  To  appreciate  adequately  Steuben's  merit  requires 
a  profound  military  education.  An  officer  of  experience  and 
talent  is  alone  capable  of  treating  the  subject  of  this  work  in 
a  perfect  manner ;  and  it  was  only  because  no  one  possessing 
this  qualification  seemed  willing  to  perform  the  task,  that  I 
was  induced  to  overcome  my  reluctance  to  undertake  it.  To 
supply  my  deficiency  in  this  respect  as  much  as  possible,  I 
have  copied  a  number  of  important  letters  and  other  docu- 
ments, which,  I  trust,  will  render  it  easy  for  every  one  versed 
in  military  matters  to  form  a  correct  opinion,  and  make  up  for 
the  many  imperfections  of  my  narrative.     The  arrangement 

1 


X  PREFACE. 

of  my  book  may  not  be  exactly  in  conformity  with  the  ar 
tistic  requirements  of  biographical  writing  ;  but  the  fact  that 
the  greater  part  of  my  material  is  new,  and  hitherto  unpub- 
lished, and  that  in  order  to  attain  my  chief  object,  to  portray 
Steuben  in  the  light  of  his  time  and  the  judgment  of  his  co- 
temporaries,  I  was  obliged  to  copy  the  greater  number  of  the 
documents  without  abridgment,  will,  I  hope,  in  some  degree 
plead  my  excuse. 

I  conceive  that  one  of  the  chief  recommendations  of  this 
book  will  be  found  to  be  that  it  allows  facts  to  speak  for  them- 
selves, and  limits  the  author's  opinions  to  those  statements 
which  obviously  need  explanation.  Had  the  material  not  been 
so  very  incomplete,  that  is,  so  full  of  gaps,  I  should  have  fol- 
lowed my  first  inclination,  and  have  only  given  a  carefully 
selected  collection  of  the  Steuben  papers,  critically  aud  chro- 
nologically arranged ;  for  a  good  biography  is  only  a  single 
plank  in  the  building  which  the  historian  puts  together.  The 
greater  the  amount  of  material  it  contains  the  better  it  is ; 
and  the  more  reasoning  it  contains  the  worse  it  is.  A  great 
German  philosopher,  Ludwig  Feuerbach,  has  written  the  life 
of  his  father,  the  great  jurist,  in  this  way,  and  has  published 
a  classical  work  which  does  not  contain  a  single  superfluous 
word,  and  teaches  other  authors  a  lesson  of  modesty  and  self- 
control.  "  Historians,"  says  Feuerbach,  "  may  be  as  proud 
as  they  please  of  their  objectivity  (Objectivitat),  but  this, 
in  reality,  only  consists  in  abstaining  from  speaking  them- 
selves, arid  in  allowing  the  subject  to  speak  directly  for  itself. 
Every  one  represents  himself  best." 

For  the  same  reason  I  have  allowed,  as  much  as  possible, 
evidence  and  persons  to  speak  for  themselves,  and  certainly  no- 
body can  reproach  me  with  having  even  partially  adopted  the 
"  Fourth  of  July  oration  style."  I  believe  that  the  biograph- 
ical works  relating  to  the  period  of  the  Revolution  which  are 
extant  here,  are  not  sufficiently  comprehensive.  The  Amer- 
icans regard  with  justifiable  pride  the  battle  for  independence 
which  their  fathers  fought,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
heroes  who  achieved  that  independence  were  giants  compared 
with  the  men  of  the  present  day.  But  in  their  peculiar  evan- 
gelical way  of  contemplating  men  and  things,  they  fancy  they 


PREFACE.  XI 

are  paying  their  heroes  a  great  tribute  of  respect,  by  divest- 
ing them  of  all  human  attributes,  and  either  forgetting  alto- 
gether, measuring  by  the  standard  of  the  present  time,  or 
blindly  condemning  those  men  who  do  not  exactly  suit  their 
tastes  and  ideas.  Thus  has  erroneous  idealism  of  the  time  of 
the  Revolution  by  the  present  generation  seriously  impeded 
the  progress  of  a  comprehensive  and  critical  investigation  of 
the  history  of  that  period.  The  more  the  commercial  and 
business  pursuits  of  the  day  are  opposed  to  an  intimate  un- 
derstanding of  the  character  of  the  Revolution,  the  more  is 
the  past  transcendentalized.  Unqualified  worship  is  always 
accompanied  by  equally  unqualified  depreciation  or  condemna- 
tion, and  the  rarely  commended  Greene,  and  the  unappreciated 
Steuben  correspond  with  the  deified  Washington  and  Lafayette. 
Jefferson  fitly  criticises  their  mode  of  judging,  in  his  remarks 
on  a  life  of  Patrick  Henry,  which  was  written  in  this  objection- 
able style.  "  It  is  a  bad  book,"  says  he,  "  written  in  bad 
style,  and  gives  so  imperfect  an  idea  of  Patrick  Henry  that  it 
seems  intended  to  show  off  the  writer  more  than  the  subject 
of  the  work." 

I  hope  that  I  have  not  exposed  myself  to  this  reproach, 
since  it  has  been  my  most  earnest  endeavor  to  adhere  strictly 
to  impartial  truth  and  justice,  and  avoid  all  illusions  and  erro- 
neous conclusions.  And  if  my  opinions  of  events  and  men 
differ  from  those  of  others,  and  even  appear  to  be  less  favorable 
than  those  contained  in  the  traditionary  accounts  of  the  times, 
I  hope  that  instead  of  blaming  me,  my  readers  will  give  me 
credit  for  having  examined  the  sources  of  information  within 
my  reach  independently  and  conscientiously. 

Steuben's  life  could  only  be  written  in  New  York.  The 
New  York  Historical  Society  contains  in  its  collection  of  man- 
uscripts sixteen  volumes  of  original  Steuben  Papers,  which 
were  presented  to  the  society  about  twenty  years  ago  by  the 
heirs  and  executors  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Walker.  They  ex- 
tend over  the  entire  of  Steuben's  life,  and  although  here  and 
there  important  gaps  occur  in  them,  it  would  nevertheless  be 
impossible  without  them  to  write  any  thing  approaching  to  a 
perfect  biography  of  Steuben. 

The  most  valuable  portions  of  the  collection  are  the  letters 


Xll  PREFACE. 

of  the  year  1778,  and  the  documents  relating  to  the  Virginia 
campaign.  Besides  these,  the  Gates  Papers,  also  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Historical  Society,  contain  a  large  part  of  Steu- 
ben's correspondence  with  Lafayette  in  1781,  and  some  valuable 
letters  from  Gates,  Armstrong  and  others. 

My  use  of  this  precious  treasure  was  greatly  facilitated  by 
the  extreme  kindness  of  the  librarian,  George  H.  Moore,  Esq. 
Mr.  Moore  is  a  model  librarian ;  he  gives  every  assistance  in 
his  power,  and  often  meets  the  searcher  more  than  half  way. 
It  is  not  only  most  fortunate  for  the  Historical  Society  to  have 
such  a  librarian,  but  it  is  fortunate  for  the  entire  country,  and 
for  science,  since  both  profit  by  his  good  qualities.  I  trust 
that  Mr.  Moore  may  long  be  spared  to  the  Historical  Society. 

In  a  like  degree  am  I  indebted  to  Mr.  George  Washing- 
ton Greene  for  the  readiness  with  which  he  placed  his  written 
treasures  at  my  disposal.  Mr.  Greene  is  a  grandson  of  the 
famous  General  Nathanael  Greene,  and  has,  with  the  piety  of 
a  son,  and  the  judgment  and  industry  of  a  historian,  collected 
all  his  grandfather's  letters  and  despatches.  In  this  invaluable 
collection  I  found  sixty-two  letters  which  had  been  exchanged 
between  Greene  and  Steuben,  and  which  often  cast  a  new 
light  on  the  war  in  the  South,  and  on  the  relations  of  the  two 
generals.  When  Greene's  letters  and  dispatches  are  published, 
a  new,  and,  after  Washington's  writings,  the  most  authentic 
source  of  information,  with  regard  to  the  history  of  that 
eventful  period  will  be  accessible  to  the  public. 

I  gratefully  acknowledge  the  important  services  rendered 
to  me  by  John  W.  Mulligan,  Esq.,  with  whom  I  have  had 
the  advantage  of  becoming  intimately  acquainted  during  the 
progress  of  this  work.  This  venerable  gentleman,  now  eighty- 
six  years  of  age,  who  became  acquainted  with  Steuben  when 
the  latter  lived  in  New  York  at  Walker's,  afterwards  with 
Charles  Adams  lived  in  his  family,  and  continued  to  act  as  his 
secretary  until  his  death,  related  to  me  with  quite  remarkable 
vigor  and  freshness  a  number  of  characteristic  traits  and  stories 
of  Steuben's  life.  I  would  that  every  biographer  may  find  so 
reliable  an  authority,  and  so  amiable  and  instructive  a  narra- 
tor as  Mr.  Mulligan. 

In  my  journeys,  which  I  was  obliged  to  make  in  search  of 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

new  sources  of  information,  I  was  always  most  fortunate  in  meet- 
ing with  kindness  and  assistance  when  I  addressed  myself  to 
private  individuals.  Through  the  favor  of  Mr.  Jared  Sparks, 
and  the  friendly  intervention  of  Dr.  Langdon  Elwyn  of  Phila- 
delphia, I  was  permitted  to  examine  and  make  use  of  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Duponceau  papers,  which  remain  imprinted  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  G.  Garesche  of  Philadelphia.  I  am  also  in- 
debted to  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague  of  Albany  for  some  of  the  most 
valuable  documents  that  I  have  found  for  my  purpose.  Mr. 
Sprague  was  good  enough  to  allow  me  to  select  them  from  his 
famous  collection  of  autographs,  and  to  entrust  them  to  my 
care.  Had  he  not  been  so  obliging  there  would  have  been 
many  perceptible  gaps  in  my  narrative. 

The  richest  store,  however,  I  found  in  Utica,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Charles  A.  Mann,  to  whom  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  is  indebted  for  its  present  manuscript  collection 
of  Steuben  papers.  I  discovered  here,  for  the  first  time,  among 
a  heap  of  bills  and  business  papers  of  the  late  Colonel  Walker, 
an  absolute  treasure  of  interesting  and  instructive  manuscripts, 
viz. :  opinions  on  military  matters,  muster-rolls,  army  lists, 
complete  returns,  order-books,  letters,  etc.,  etc.,  which  form 
a  necessary  supplement  to  the  Steuben  papers  of  the  Histor- 
ical Society,  and  which  were  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Mann  for 
presentation  to  that  institution.  He  who  has  undertaken  an 
historical  work  in  which  he  is  deeply  interested,  and  in  his 
search  for  information  has  found  an  unexpected  treasure,  can 
alone  conceive  the  joy  which  I  felt  when  I  saw  all  these  price- 
less documents  spread  out  before  me  at  Mr.  Mann's,  and  knew 
that  I  might  rummage  among  them  as  I  pleased. 

Judge  M.  M.  Jones,  the  historian  of  Oneida  county,  who  once 
thought  of  writing  Steuben's  life  himself,  offered  me,  in  the 
kindest  manner,  permission  to  examine  the  materials  which  he 
had  collected,  and  I  am  also  under  obligations  to  him  for  a 
copy  of  the  interesting  and  rare  biographical  sketch  of  Steu- 
ben by  William  North.  Finally,  I  acknowledge  the  kindness 
of  Frederick  Fairlie,  Esq.,  of  Elizabeth  City,  New  Jersey,  in 
communicating  to  me  some  interesting  details  of  the  life  of 
his  father,  Major  James  Fairlie,  one  of  Steuben's  former  aides- 
de-camp. 


XIV  PKEFACE. 

I  am  the  more  thankful  to  those  of  the  above-named  gen- 
tlemen who  do  not  inhabit  New  York,  because,  although  I 
was  a  perfect  stranger  to  them,  and  without  any  personal  in- 
troduction, they  received  me  with  so  much  kindness  and  flat- 
tering confidence. 

Lastly,  I  desire  to  express  the  obligations  I  am  under  to 
my  friend,  William  Montague  Browne,  Esq.,  one  of  the  edi- 
tors of  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  whose  willing 
services  in  correcting  my  MSS.  have  been  invaluable  to  me. 

The  only  place  where  I  was  ignominiously  repulsed  was 
Washington,  where  I  wished  to  examine,  among  the  State 
Archives,  the  perfectly  arranged  collection  of  papers  relating 
to  the  Revolution  which  is  kept  there.  I  arrived  there  on 
the  19th  of  June,  1856,  provided  writh  the  best  letters  of  in- 
troduction to  ministers,  secretaries  and  members  of  Congress. 
I  was  not  received  by  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  wTas 
put  oft'  from  Friday  to  the  following  Tuesday,  because  the 
Secretary  was  too  much  occupied  with  a  note  on  the  Central 
American  question  to  receive  anybody  before  the  departure 
of  the  next  European  steamer.  I  was  then  referred  to  an 
assistant  Secretary  of  State,  who,  in  his  first  conversation,  de- 
clared his  perfect  willingness  to  grant  my  request.  He,  how- 
ever, went  immediately  into  another  room,  as  it  seemed,  to 
take  advice,  and  came  back  to  inform  me  that  I  could  not  be 
allowed  access  to  the  archives  without  the  express  permission 
of  Congress.  This  decree  was  quite  new  and  strange  to  me,  be- 
cause it  was  in  complete  contradiction  to  what  my  New  York 
friends  had  led  me  to  believe ;  because  acquaintances  of  mine 
had  only  a  short  time  before  found  no  difficulty  whatever  ;  and 
because  a  New  York  gentleman  was  at  that  very  time  work- 
ing every  day  among  the  archives  without,  as  far  as  I  knew, 
any  special  permission  from  Congress.  In  order  to  get  an  ex- 
planation of  this  contradiction  I  went  to  the  librarian  and  to 
a  member  of  Congress,  to  whom  I  had  been  personally  intro- 
duced. They  both  assured  me  that  I  must  have  made  a  mis- 
take, and  that  there  was  no  need  of  any  special  permission 
from  Congress.  I  made  a  second  attempt  with  the  under  Sec- 
retary of  State,  who,  it  appeared,  was  also  a  general  in  time 
of  peace  ;  but  I  was  most  positively  refused.     My  New  York 


PREFACE.  XV 

acquaintance  then  took  me,  without  any  further  parley,  straight 
to  the  archive  chamber,  and  I  was  permitted  by  the  superin- 
tendent, an  agreeable,  obliging  man,  to  look  over  and  copy 
the  papers  I  wanted,  on  condition  that  I  should  get  the  per- 
mission of  the  Secretary  of  State,  of  which  he  had  no  doubt. 
On  the  next  day,  a  Saturday,  I  began  to  copy,  and  made  ar- 
rangements to  continue  my  task  during  the  following  week. 
On  Monday,  however,  after  having  made  a  third  attempt  to 
get  the  desired  information,  and  not  having  been  allowed  ad- 
mittance to  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  superintendent  took 
away  my  copies,  and  locked  up  the  documents.  I  have  no 
fault  to  find  with  the  latter  gentleman.  He  had  already  done 
more  than  perhaps  he  ought  to  have  done.  I  was  unwilling, 
with  a  temperature  of  about  one  hundred  degrees,  to  spend 
several  days  begging  as  a  special  grace  for  that  to  which  I 
conceived  I  had  a  perfect  right.  I  left  Washington  that  same 
evening  for  New  York,  and  had  scarcely  arrived  when  I  re- 
ceived the  copied  papers  which  had  been  taken  from  me  by 
the  superintendent,  in  a  cover,  unaccompanied  by  a  line  of  ex- 
planation, bearing  the  seal  of  the  State  Department.  If  any 
thing  can  speak  in  favor  of  my  opinions  and  against  the  un- 
der Secretary  of  State,  it  is  this  unsolicited  remittance  of  the 
papers. 

I  can  not  deny  myself  the  satisfaction,  small  though  it  be, 
to  denounce  to  the  public  the  insult  which  I  received.  I  was 
treated  in  Washington  as  if  I  were  a  spy,  and  that  for  no 
other  reason  than  because  I  was  a  foreigner.  American  his- 
torians are  justly  proud  of  the  complaisance  and  attention 
with  which  they  have  been  received  in  European  libraries, 
and  allowed  access  to  European  archives.  The  narrow-mind- 
edness of  applying  to  scientific  researches  the  miserable  stand- 
ard of  nationality  does  not  exist  in  any  European  capital. 
Throughout  Europe,  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Madrid,  the  li- 
brarians, ministers  and  subordinate  officials,  are  too  enlight- 
ened to  be  guilty  of  any  such  offense  against  civilization. 
They  do  not  regard  the  permission  to  use  the  treasures  con- 
fided to  their  care  as  a  favor,  but  as  the  vested  right  of  every 
educated  man  who  is  properly  recommended.  I  must  here 
relate  a  little   anecdote,   which,  although    belonging  to  low 


XVI  PREFACE. 

comedy,  is  perfectly  characteristic  of  these  Washington  gen- 
tlemen. 

"  I  presume  you  are  going  to  prove,"  said  one  of  these 
classic  under  Secretaries  to  me,  on  that  day,  "  that  the  success 
of  our  Revolution  is  due  to  the  Germans  ;  that  they  contrib- 
uted chiefly  to  our  national  independence.  There  was  once  an 
Irishman  who  wrote  a  life  of  General  Montgomery,  and  ap- 
plied to  the  Department  for  admission  to  the  archives.  He 
afterwards  proved  that  we  should  not  have  succeeded  without 
General  Montgomery,  and  that  he  was  even  equal  to  Wash- 
ington." In  short,  among  the  generals,  commodores  and  col- 
onels of  the  ministry  of  State,  I  was  submitted  to  a  close 
cross-examination,  and  though  of  course  denying  the  pro- 
priety of  their  inquisitiveness,  I  gave  repeated  assurances 
that  I  intended  to  write  history  and  not  fancy  tales.  They, 
however,  did  not  seem  to  place  much  confidence  in  what  T 
said. 

It  is  very  possible  that  in  the  rich  collection  of  papers  in 
the  archives  of  Washington,  many  valuable  documents  exist, 
which  I  might  have  used.  I  wish  that  those  who  may  at- 
tempt to  get  access  to  them  after  me,  may  have  better  suc- 
cess, and,  above  all,  receive  more  becoming  treatment.  The 
chances,  however,  of  any  such  change  are  very  small,  so  long 
as  the  control  of  the  great  original  treasures  of  the  Revolu 
tion  is  left  to  the  subordinate  tools  of  the  dominant  party. 

It  was  my  intention  at  one  time,  after  completing  this 
work,  to  write  the  lives  of  Yon  Kalb,  Kosciusko,  Pulasky,  and 
other  foreign  officers  and  generals  of  the  Revolution ;  but  as 
I  should  be  obliged  to  consult  the  Washington  archives  in 
the  greater  portion  of  my  researches,  I  have  abandoned  the 
idea,  not  being  willing  to  purchase  a  very  doubtful  success  by 
personal  humiliation. 

Friedkich  Kapp. 
New  York,  February,  1859. 


CHAPTER     I . 

Prominent  Part  taken  by  Steuben  in  the  War  of  American  Independence.— 
Synopsis  of  his  Career.— Genealogy  of  the  Steuben  Family.— First  mentioned 
in  the  Thirteenth  Century.— Effects  produced  by  the  Reformation  upon  the 
German  Nobles,  to  which  the  Steubens  belonged.— Separation  of  the  Branch 
from  which  the  General  is  descended  from  the  Parent  Stock  during  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.— Nicholas  Von  Steuben  Captain  in  the  Army  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  Founder  of  this  Branch.— Mention  of  its  Members  down 
to  wllhelm  augustine,  the  father  of  the  general. — sketch  of  his  llfe.— 
Names  and  Number  of  his  Children.— Birth  of  General  Von  Steuken.— His 
Youth  and  Education.— TIis  Entrance  into  the  Prussian  Army  under  Fred- 
erick the  Great.— Position  of  Prussia  at  this  Time.— The  Influence  of  the 
King  in  Europe.— German  Patriotism  aroused  by  his  Exploits.— Prussia  at 
the  Zenith  of  her  Fame  at  the  commencement  of  Steuben's  Career. — Steuben 
Ensign  and  Lieutenant. — His  Duties  in  Schweidnitz  described  in  an  interest- 
ing Letter.— His  Ambition  and  Devotion  to  his  Profession.— Prospects  of  the 
Seven  Years'  War. — Steuben  First  Lieutenant. 

AMONG  the  officers  who  assisted  the  United  States  of 
America  in  achieving  their  independence,  General  Von 
Steuben,  or,  as  he  is  more  generally  called  in  this  country, 
Baron  Steuben,*  holds  one  of  the  most  prominent  positions. 
This  position,  however,  is  not  aecorded  to  him  in  the  pages 
of  American  history. 

The  evident  reason  for  this  neglect  is,  that  Steuben's  activ- 
ity, although  essentially  useful  and  indispensable,  was  not  as 
conspicuous  as  that  of  others ;  that  on  account  of  the  pecul- 
iar nature  of  his  position  as  inspector  and  diciplinarian  of  the 
troops,  ho  was  almost  exclusively  engaged  behind  the  scenes 
of  the  theater  of  war,  and  assisted  materially  in  paving  the 
way  for  the  successes  of  which  others  reaped  the  greatest  por- 
tion of  the  glory.  Thus,  few  or  no  exterior  marks  of  Steuben's 
exertions  are  left,  and  the  same  prominence  is  not  given  to  his 
name,  in  connection  with  the  glorious  exploits  of  the  war,  as 
*  Pronounced  as  if  spelled  Stoyben. 


38  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

is  bestowed  upon  others  whose  merits  were  not  greater,  if  so 
great,  and  whose  deeds  would  not  have  been  so  brilliant,  were 
it  not  for  the  effective  assistance  which  Steuben's  talent  and 
thorough  acquaintance  with  military  details  and  the  manage- 
ment of  troops  afforded  in  the  entire  conduct  of  the  War  of 
Independence. 

The  life  of  Steuben  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
eventful  of  the  many  brilliant  and  stirring  scenes  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Sprung  from  an  old  noble  and  military  family  of  Prussia, 
as  a  child  he  accompanied  his  father  in  his  campaign  in  the 
Crimea  and  during  his  sojourn  in  Russia.  As  a  boy,  he  was 
present  at  the  siege  of  Prague,  and,  as  a  youth,  he  entered  the 
service  of  Frederick  the  Great,  the  greatest  commander  of  the 
age,  and  fought  with  distinction  in  the  bloodiest  engagements 
of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Taken  prisoner  by  the  Russians, 
he  spent  some  time  at  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  and,  when 
set  at  liberty  by  Peter  III.,  he  remained,  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  attached  to  the  personal  staff  of  the  great  king.  The 
calm  which  succeeded  the  stormy  events  of  his  youth  was  not 
destined  to  be  everlasting.  As  soon  as  prospects  of  fame  and 
active  exertions  were  opened  to  him  at  Versailles,  he  threw  up 
his  agreeable  but  inactive  appointment  at  home,  and  hastened 
to  America,  to  devote  his  military  knowledge  and  experience 
to  the  conquest  of  American  liberty,  and  to  fight  under  George 
Washington  for  the  independence  of  the  United  States.  His 
efforts  were  crowned  with  success  ;  and,  after  the  termination 
of  the  war,  Steuben  finally  retired  into  private  life,  to  end  a 
career  devoted  to  the  public  good,  in  honorable  but  unassum- 
ing poverty,  in  a  rough  log-house  in  the  backwoods. 

Prague  and  Kunersdor^  Petersburg  and  Berlin,  Versailles 
and  Philadelphia,  Yorktown  and  Xew  York,  are  the  land- 
marks of  this  existence,  which,  however  checkered  and  beset 
with  difficulties,  has  left  brilliant  traces  behind  it,  and  justly 
deserves  to  be  added  to  the  records  of  American  history,  so 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  39 

that,  from  a  solitary  example,  the  student  may  learn  what 
efforts  and  sacrifices  were  necessary  to  found  and  protect  the 
state  of  things,  in  the  enjoyment  of  which  the  American  nation 
lives  happy  and  undisturbed. 

The  family  from  which  General  Yon  Steuben  is  descend- 
ed, still  exists  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  namely,  in  eastern 
Prussia,  Weimar,  and  Westphalia,  and  is  mentioned  for  the 
first  time  in  the  thirteenth  century,  when  they  left  Franconia, 
and  came  into  the  district  named  Mansfeld,  now  a  part  of  the 
Prussian  province  of  Saxony.*  The  name,  which  is  first  writ- 
ten Stetibe,  Stoebe,  Stoyben,  and,  finally  Von  Steuben,  is  found 
in  the  list  of  vassals  of  Mansfeld  and  Magdeburg,  which  was  a 
roll  of  all  the  noblemen  who  were  invested  with  feudal  manors 
and  estates.  Among  others,  there  is  a  record  of  a  conveyance, 
executed  in  the  year  1398,  by  Archbishop  Albrecht  of  Magde- 
burg, to  one  Bernard  Yon  Steuben,  concerning  the  manor  of 
Hohenthurm  ;f  besides  which,  the  Steubens  are  found,  in  the 
course  of  the  following  centuries,  in  the  possession  of  the  estates 
of  Gerbstaedt,  Friedeburg,  and  Treschwitz.  In  1457  and 
1466,  we  find  a  Wenzel  Yon  Steube,  who  was  town  counselor 
in  Halle,  on  the  Saale,  and  the  owner  of  some  shares  in  the 
salt  mines  of  that  city.  In  1478,  Archbishop  Ernest  of  Madge- 
burg  conferred  on  Philip  and  Hans  Yon  Stoyben  two  shares  of 
the  above  mines,  and  some  other  estates  in  the  neighborhood. 

Afterwards,  the  Steubens  joined  the  Reformation  under 
Luther,  and  became  Protestants,  like  all  the  noblemen  of  that 
part  of  Germany. 

It  was  one  of  the  consequences  of  the  Reformation,  that  the 
little  German  princes  increased  their  power  by  confiscating 
the  Church  property,  and  thus  became  enabled  to  subdue  the 

*  Spangenberg  Adelshistorie  II.,  1106-1117.  and  Colloctio  Genealogica 
Koeningiana,  vol.  xciii. 

f  I.  Ch.  Von  Dreyhaupt  Ausfuhrliche  diplomatisch  historische  Beschrei 
bung  des  Saalkreises  und  aller  darin  befindlichen  Stacdto.  Halle,  1755,  fbL, 
p.  901. 


40  LIFE      OP     STEUBEN. 

influence  of  the  smaller  vassals,  who  were  in  this  way  com- 
pelled to  enter  into  the  service  of  their  former  rivals.  At  the 
same  time  the  new  method  of  warfare,  the  new  inventions  in 
the  military  service,  the  general  application  of  gunpowder, 
guns  and  cannons,  and  finally  the  new  system  of  mercenary 
troops,  made  the  services  and  the  importance  of  the  knights 
superfluous,  whose  former  individual  influence  and  power  were 
extinguished  by  the  centralized  dominion  of  the  prince.  By 
the  continued  wars  they  lost  their  property,  also,  and  in- 
curred considerable  debts.  Especially  in  those  countries  which, 
like  the  north  and  middle  of  Germany,  were  the  perpetual 
theater  of  strife,  the  nobility  became  from  day  to  day  poorer 
and  more  dependent  upon  the  territorial  prince.  This  is  the 
reason  why,  in  the  old  provinces  of  Prussia,  there  are  scarcely 
any  wealthy  noblemen  to  be  found,  and  why  the  electors  of 
Brandenburg,  afterwards  kings  of  Prussia,  succeeded  writh 
comparative  ease  in  forcing  the  formerly  independent  knights 
to  subserve  their  private  interests.  This  change,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  local  differences,  was  general  over  the  whole  conti- 
nent of  civilized  Europe.  Commencing  with  the  Reformation, 
it  reached  its  culminating  point  in  the  court  nobility  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  Louis  XV.,  whose  example  was  eagerly  imitated  by 
the  mushroom  princes  of  Germany.  The  highest  ambition  of 
the  former  equals  of  kings  and  princes  wras  now  to  obtain  some 
civil  or  military  office,  and  the  only  privilege  left  to  them  was 
their  exclusive  nomination  to  the  highest  places  in  the  army 
and  civil  service. 

The  Steuben  family  belongs  to  this  category.  They  must 
have  lost  their  independence  very  early,  for  some  of  their 
numbers  held  ecclesiastical  offices  even  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation.  Although  they  only  lost  the  remnants  of  their 
landed  estates  in  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century,*  in  the 

*  I.  Ch.  Yon  Dreyhaupt:  General-Tabclle  oder  Geschlechtsregister  der 
vornchmstcn  in  Saalkreiso  mit  Rittergiitern  angesessenen  Familien.  Hallo, 
1750,  foL,  p.  100. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  41 

early  records  of  the  Protestant  church  mention  is  made  of  a 
Mr.  Yon  Steuben  as  one  of  its  first  preachers,  and  even  before 
Luther's  declaration  of  independence  from  the  Pope,  another 
Mr.  Yon  Steuben,  in  1512,  is  an  officiating  clergyman  in 
Frotha,  near  Halle.* 

It  would  be  tedious  and  uninteresting  to  the  American 
reader  to  trace  the  history  of  the  Steuben  family  through  all 
its  details.  It  will,  therefore,  be  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to 
state  briefly  that  the  branch  to  which  the  General  belongs 
was  separated  from  the  parent  stock  during  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  though  retaining  the  same  arms  and  name.  The  former 
are  an  impailed  shield,  azure  (blue)  and  argent  (silver),  with  a 
bend  over  all  gules  (red) ;  the  crest,  surmounting  a  military 
casque,  is  two  elephant-trunks,  the  one  on  the  dexter  (right- 
hand)  argent  and  gules,  the  sinister  (left  hand)  gules  and  azure, 
the  whole  surmounted  by  a  coronet  of  nobility.  This  line  is 
connected  by  marriage  with  some  of  the  most  prominent 
Prussian  families  of  the  last  century.  The  Luederitz,  Saldern, 
Mcellendorf  and  Knesebeck,  who,  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  excelled  as  generals  and  commanders,  are,  on  the  moth- 
er's part,  among  the  ancestors  of  Steuben,  and  the  counts  of 
Effern  and  the  reigning  princes  of  Waldeck  and  Nassau-Siegen 
were  among  the  founders  of  this  line.  It  goes  back  to  Ernest 
Nicholas  Yon  Steuben, f  who  entered  the  German  emperor's 
service  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  obtained  a  commis- 
sion as  captain.  In  consequence  of  the  severe  wounds  he  had 
received  in  various  battles,  he  was  compelled  in  early  life  to 
withdraw  from  service.  He  married  a  Lady  Henriette  Yon 
Francken,  and  retired  to  his  estate.  He  left  but  one  son, 
Ludwig,  born  in  1642,  who  was  knight  of  the  order  of  Malta, 
and  the  great-grandfather  of  the  General.    Ludwig's  only  son, 

*  Hering's  Beitraege  zur  reformirten  Kirche,  ii.,  312. 

\  Historisches  Portefeuille,  Berlin,  1*785,  iv.  Stuck,  p.  447,  article  of  J.  F. 
Seyfart  of  Halle,  to  whom  the  history  of  the  Steuben  family  was  communi- 
cated by  the  General's  father. 


43  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Augustine  Von  Steuben,  born  in  1661,  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  theology,  married  Countess  Charlotte  Dorothea  Yon 
Effern,  and  died  in  1737,  as  rector  of  the  Protestant  church 
of  Brandenburg.  He  was  a  very  learned  divine,  and  won 
much  distinction  as  the  author  of  an  able  commentary  on  the 
New  Testament  and  the  Apocalypse.  He  had  ten  children, 
of  whom  seven  were  sons ;  three  died  in  early  youth,  and  the 
remaining  four  all  adopted  the  military  profession.*  The  old- 
est, Christian  Ludwig,  who  died  in  1765,  at  Gltickstadt,  com- 
menced his  career  as  an  officer  in  the  Prussian,  and  after- 
ward became  colonel  in  the  Danish  army,  was  an  excellent 
mathematician,  a  prominent  author  on  military  science,  and 
the  inventor  of  a  new  system  of  fortification.  A  younger  son, 
August  Gottlieb,  lieutenant  in  the  Prussian  regiment  Kalck- 
stein,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Mollwitz,  on  the  10th  of 
April,  1741.  The  younger  son,  Gottfried  Gerhard,  like  his 
oldest  brother,  was  first  an  officer  in  the  Prussian  service,  but 
subsequently  entered  that  of  Holland,  where  he  died,  hav- 
ing attained  the  rank  of  a  captain. 

We  have  now  particularly  to  notice  the  fourth  son,  Wil- 
helm  Augustine,  the  father  of  the  General.  He  Avas  born  on  the 
23d  of  April,  1699,  received  a  first  rate  education  ;  f  studied 
with  his  two  elder  brothers  at  Halle,  and  at  sixteen  years  of 
age  entered  the  Prussian  military  service  (17 15)  as  cadet  in 
the  regiment  Von  Gersdorf.  In  1724  he  became  ensign  in  the 
newly  raised  regiment  Von  Bardeleben ;  1727,  lieutenant  in 
the  engineer  corps ;  and  in  1729,  captain,  when  he  married 
Mary  Dorothea  Von  Jagow,  born  on  the  14th  of  August,  1706, 
and  who  died  on  the  19th  of  January,  1780.  The  captain  was 
known  as  an  able  and  scientific  officer.     In  1731  he  was  pre- 

*  Historisches  Portefeuille,  Berlin,  1785. 

\  Besides  the  work  quoted,  all  the  particulars  about  Steuben's  father  may 
be  found  in  Carl  Renatus  von  Ilausen  Staatsmatcria*lien,  I  Band,  6,  Heft  p. 
636.  Dessau,  1784.  The  author  states  that  he  derived  his  information  from 
the  General's  sister.  \ 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  43 

sented  with  the  order  "  de  la  generosite,"  and  two  years  later, 
1733,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Polish  succession,  he 
entered  the  service  of  Russia  by  order  of  King  Frederick 
William  I.,  to  whom  the  Empress  Anne  of  Russia  had  applied 
for  some  good  Prussian  engineer  officers,  and  distinguished 
himself,  in  1734,  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Dantzic.  Shortly 
after,  when  war  was  declared  between  Russia  and  Turkey, 
Captain  Yon  Steuben  continued  to  serve  in  the  Russian  army 
under  Field  Marshal  Count  Munnich,  and  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paign in  the  Crimea.  After  the  restoration  of  peace  he  went 
to  Petersburg  and  Cronstadt  as  military  instructor  to  the  Rus- 
sian officers,  and  did  not  return  to  Prussia  until  Frederick  II. 
had  ascended  the  throne.  He  reentered  the  Prussian  army  as 
major  unattached,  and  for  his  eminent  services  at  the  capture 
of  Neisse  in  1741,  received  the  decoration  of  the  order  "pour 
le  merited  in  the  distribution  of  which  Frederic  was  not  at 
all  liberal.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  the 
king  transferred  Steuben  from  the  position  of  engineer  of  the 
fort  of  Cosel  to  the  more  important  and  responsible  post  at 
Ciistrin,  where  he  was  appointed  joint  commander.  He  con- 
tinued to  live  here  after  his  discharge  from  service,  and  here 
he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  on  the  26th  of 
April,  1783.  The  major  is  described  by  his  cotemporaries  as 
an  honest,  straightforward  and  worthy  officer.  They  mention 
it  as  something  remarkable,  that  although  engaged  in  a  great 
many  dangerous  actions  and  sanguinary  battles,  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  well-known  storming  of  the  Hagelsberg,  near  Dant- 
zic, he  never  was  wounded  ;  and,  up  to  his  death,  preserved 
the  unimpaired  use  of  his  physical  and  mental  energies.  The 
only  thing  in  which  he  lacked,  was  money.*  During  his  en- 
tire life  his  circumstances  were  straitened.  His  salary  was 
scarcely  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  live  according  to  his  rank, 
and  to  meet  the  expenses  which  a  Prussian  officer  of  those 

*  Politisches  Journal  von  und  far  Peutschland,  ii.  vol.,  p.  84—95,  1784. 


44  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

times  was  compelled  to  incur.  Though  poor  in  a  pecuniary 
sense,  he  was  rich  in  the  number  of  his  children.  It  was,  per- 
haps, fortunate  for  him  that  many  of  them  died  in  early  youth, 
since  to  have  given  them  a  liberal  education,  would  have  re- 
quired a  larger  fortune  than  he  possessed.  In  all,  he  had  ten 
children,  of  whom  only  three  arrived  at  years  of  maturity. 
Two  of  his  daughters  are  buried  in  Cronstadt,  another  in  Pe- 
tersburg, and  a  fourth  'm  Riga ;  one  of  his  sons  also  died  in 
Riga,  and  two  others  in  Breslau.  Of  his  surviving  children, 
the  General,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  is  the  oldest.  The 
only  surviving  daughter,  Dorothea  Mary  Justine,  was  born  in 
1733,  in  Cronstadt;  and  after  having  become  a  "  chanoinesse" 
in  a  noble  Protestant  ecclesiastical  foundation  at  Heiligen 
Grabe,  gave  up  this  position  to  marry,  in  1762,  a  Prussian 
captain,  Baron  Carl  Constantine  Yon  Canitz,  who  died  in  1766, 
leaving  two  sons.  The  last  brother  of  the  General,  Hans  Alex- 
ander Siegfried,  was  born  on  March  16th,  1743,  at  Breslau, 
in  1757  became  a  page  in  the  household  of  the  Queen  of  Prus- 
sia, and  afterward,  in  1761,  entered  the  Prussian  army,  join- 
ing one  of  the  most  famous  regiments  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  Betting's  hussars,  to  which  the  celebrated  Field  Marshal 
Bliicher  also  belonged  at  that  time;  he  retired  in  1769,  and 
died  as  tax  collector  at  Baerwalde  in  Pomerania. 

Frederick  William  Augustus  Henry  Ferdinand  Yon  Steu- 
ben, the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  on  the  15th  of  No- 
vember, 1730,  at  Magdeburg,  a  large  Prussian  fortress  on  the 
Elbe.*  At  that  time  his  father  was  captain  in  the  Prussian 
engineers,  and  when  called  on  service  to  the  Crimea  and  Cron- 
stadt, took  his  son  with  him.  In  1740  he  returned  with  him 
to  Prussia.  Young  Steuben  received  and  finished  his  educa- 
tion in  the  Jesuits'  Colleges  at  Neisse  and  Breslau,  whose 

*  As  all  our  authorities  differed  in  regard  to  the  birthday  of  Steuben, 
we  made  it  our  special  object  to  ascertain  its  exact  date.  This  wo  owe  to 
the  kindness  of  the  General's  great-grand  nephew,  Lieutenant  Yon  Steuben, 
in  Gumbinnen  (Eastern  Prussia). 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  45 

schools  at  that  time  were  the  best  in  the  newly  conquered 
Prussian  province  of  Silesia,  and  on  that  account  frequented 
equally  by  Protestants  and  Catholics.  He  distinguished  him- 
self especially  in  mathematics.  The  schools  of  those  days  did 
not  consider  it  as  their  task  to  give  a  thorough  education  to 
their  pupils ;  they  only  imparted  the  first  rudiments  of  learning, 
and  left  to  accident  or  self-education,  the  acquirement  of  that 
knowledge  which  enlarges  the  ideas  and  prepares  the  student 
for  a  better  understanding  of  the  world.  Steuben's  instruc- 
tion, however,  must  have  been  far  superior  to  that  given  to 
the  sons  of  poorer  noblemen  and  of  the  middle  classes  at  that 
time.  Although  he  may  afterward  have  increased  his  store 
of  knowledge  by  experience  and  the  intercourse  with  men  of 
an  elevated  standing  in  society;  yet  we  find  that  the  basis  of 
his  learning  was  a  very  solid  one ;  that  besides  the  information 
requisite  for  his  rank,  he  knew  what  few  officers  of  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century  understood,  viz.,  to  write  and 
speak  correctly  German  and  French,  and  that  he  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  ancient  and  modern  history. 

"The  troubles  of  a  military  life,  the  narrow  circumstances 
of  my  parents  and  their  frequent  changes  of  residence,"  says 
Steuben,  in  a  memorial  written  toward  the  end  of  his  life,* 
'*  did  not  permit  them  to  give  me  any  better  education  than 
that  which  a  poor  young  nobleman  in  Prussia  always  receives. 
But  while  other  young  officers  led  a  dissolute  and  extravagant 
life,  I  applied  myself  closely  to  study,  and  exerted  myself  not  only 
to  learn  my  profession,  but  to  enlarge  my  knowledge  of  belles- 
lettres  and  the  practical  sciences.  Nevertheless,  from  want  of 
time  and  the  necessary  means,  I  made  only  slow  progress." 

While  a  boy  of  scarcely  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  served 
under  his  father  as  a  volunteer  in  the  campaign  of  1744,  during 
the  war  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  and  was  present  at  the  pro- 
tracted and  sanguinary  siege  of  Prague. f 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers  (Sprague).  f  Historisohes  Portefeuillo,  1.  c. 


4G  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  first  notions  and  impressions  of  the 
boy  should  exercise  an  important  influence  on  the  whole  after 
life  and  destiny  of  the  man.  Steuben,  from  his  earliest  infancy, 
saw  nothing  but  soldiers  and  things  pertaining  to  war.  The 
principal  topics  of  conversation  at  home  were  the  martial  tra- 
ditions of  his  family,  and  the  exploits  of  his  immediate  relatives. 
The  glory  of  heroic  deeds  and  brilliant  victories  flew  tli rough 
the  country,  and  the  spirit  of  the  people,  martial  since  the 
days  of  the  great  elector,  Frederick  William,  was  now  exultant 
at  the  triumph  of  Frederick  II.,  and  roused  to  enthusiasm. 

As  a  son  of  a  poor  officer,  Steuben's  only  prospect  was  to 
gain  for  himself  an  honorable  position  and  distinction  on  the 
field  of  battle.  The  constitution  of  the  State  and  of  the  army 
having  given  to  the  impoverished  nobility  fresh  importance 
by  attaching  them  to  the  service  and  interest  of  the  sovereign, 
the  entrance  of  young  Steuben  into  the  army  was  a  necessary 
consequence  of  the  father's  position.  It  was,  therefore,  a 
matter  of  course,  that  when  he  arrived  at  the  required  time 
of  life,  he  should  obtain  a  commission. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  Steuben  entered  as  a  cadet  (1747) 
the  famous  infantry  regiment  Yon  Lestwitz,  afterwards  Von 
Tauenzien. 

At  this  period  Prussia  had  just  appeared  like  a  meteor  on 
the  political  horizon,  and  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
world  at  large,  as  well  by  the  rapid  development  of  her 
strength,  as  by  the  imposing  position  which  she  had  suddenly 
acquired  after  the  fortunate  termination  of  the  wars  of  the 
Austrian  Succession.  That  which  was  conceived  a  farce 
played  by  Frederick  I.  (1701-1713)  in  declaring  himself  king 
of  a  then  powerless  State,  soon  proved  a  plan  not  devoid  of 
strong  political  signification.  His  successor,  Frederick  William 
I.  (1713-1740)  gave  to  his  youthful  kingdom  that  which  no 
other  monarchy  of  the  time  possessed,  a  well  disciplined  army 
unacquainted  with  defeat,  an  abundant  treasury,  and  an  ener- 
getic and  autocratic  form  and  system  of  government  which 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  47 

was  based,  in  the  words  of  that  absolute  monarch,  on  a  "rock 
of  bronze." 

The  sober  prudence,  the  practical  views,  the  sound,  judg- 
ment of  the  father,  had  smoothed  the  way  for  the  son.  How- 
ever small  his  means  compared  with  those  of  other  powers, 
they  proved  amply  sufficient,  in  the  hands  of  a  genius,  to 
inflame  the  entire  world,  and  to  enable  him  to  dictate  his  will 
as  law.  The  accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  to  the  throne 
(1740)  opens  the  most  glorious  period  in  the  history  of 
Prussia,  extending  to  the  peace  of  Hubertsburg  (1763)  which 
terminated  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  raised  Frederick,  not- 
withstanding the  small  extent  of  his  dominions,  to  a  place 
amongst  the  arbiters  of  the  destinies  of  Europe.  During  the 
twenty-three  years  comprised  in  the  above-mentioned  period, 
for  the  greater  part  of  which  Steuben  was  in  the  service  and 
under  the  very  eyes  of  the  great  king,  Frederick  developed  all 
the  resources  of  his  mighty  talent,  and  gained,  by  his  brilliant 
exploits  and  unexampled  successes,  both  in  the  field  and  in 
the  cabinet,  for  himself  and  his  subjects,  the  admiration  and 
respect  of  the  world.  This  is  not  the  place  to  analyze  the 
political  bearings  of  the  king's  position ;  but  in  tracing  the 
biography  of  a  man  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  events  of 
that  time,  it  is  not  inappropriate  to  describe  the  great  influ- 
ence and  charm  exercised  by  Frederick  over  his  subjects  and 
cotemporaries. 

Germany,  which  ever  since  the  Reformation  had  been  the 
constant  theater  of  wars,  and  had  supplied  the  world  with 
armies  and  commanders,  gradually  declined  and  became  en- 
feebled and  denationalized.  It  was  on  the  eve  of  falling  in 
pieces  and  being  divided  into  innumerable  little  principalities, 
which,  although  nominally  independent,  were  continually 
drained  by  petty  despots,  who  depended  for  existence  upon 
the  subsidy  of  foreign  powers.  Emperor  and  empire  who 
formerly  represented  a  fictitious  union,  were  never  so  weak  as 
under  the  inglorious   sway  of  Charles  VI.     Just  before  his 


48  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

death  the  great  Frederick  appeared  upon  the  stage,  revived  the 
fallen  hopes  of  the  people,  condemned  by  misrule  and  tyranny 
to  inaction,  and  inspired  them  with  confidence  in  themselves. 
The  glory  of  his  arms  evoked  the  enthusiasm  of  old  and 
young,  even  amongst  his  enemies. 

Every  German  felt  that  the  brilliancy  of  this  man  was 
reflected  upon  his  people,  and  the  joy  was  universal  that  his 
victories  finally  tended,  if  not  to  the  direct  benefit  of  the 
German  people,  at  least  to  the  defeat  of  French  prestige,  of 
Russian  barbarism,  and  to  the  reconquest  of  the  former  glory 
of  German  arms.  National  feelings  were  aroused,  and  the 
Germans  regarded  the  future  with  proud  and  well-grounded 
hopes. 

Although  Frederick  did  not  speak  his  native  language  cor- 
rectly, and  preferred  French  literature  to  that  of  all  other 
nations,  there  never  was  a  more  national  hero,  or  a  more 
thoroughly  German  king.  Prussia,  under  him,  was  the  first 
exponent  of  these  national  feelings.  On  the  battle  field  she 
had  shown  the  way,  which  the  rest  of  Germany  successfully 
followed  in  literature  and  art,  reaching  their  climax  under 
Lessing,  Kant,  Schiller  and  Goethe  about  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  As  the  glory  of  Prussia  was,  in  the  first 
instance,  founded  by  her  army,  it  was  a  source  of  pride  and 
distinction  for  a  young  man  to  enter  its  ranks,  the  fame  of 
which  was  increasing  from  year  to  year  under  the  command 
of  its  illustrious  leader.  When  Steuben  received  his  first 
commission,  the  Prussian  army  was  approaching  the  zenith  of 
its  fame,  and  was  calculated  to  inspire  a  young  and  ardent  spirit 
with  a  strong  desire  to  devote  his  best  energies  to  a  service 
in  which  he  could  acquire  distinction,  and  gratify  the  honorable 
ambition  which  his  early  training  had  implanted  in  his  breast. 

Two  years  after  his  entering  the  army,  Steuben  was  pro- 
moted from  the  rank  of  cadet  to  that  of  ensign,  in  1749,  and 
made  lieutenant  in  1753.  Of  this  time  we  have  found  but 
scanty  memorials.     Among  a  mass  of  papers,  we  discovered 


LIPE      OP      STEUBEN.  49 

one  letter,  written  in  bad  French,  dated  Schweidnitz,  June 
4,  1754,  and  addressed  to  a  friend,  Count  Henkel  Von  Don- 
nersmark,  who  had  just  been  appointed  by  the  king  Coun- 
selor of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Silesia,  in  which  he  congratu- 
lates him  on  his  appointment,  and  describing  his  own  situa- 
tion, manifests  that  devotion  to  his  profession,  and  ardor  for 
distinction,  which  his  after  life  so  abundantly  proved. 

"  While  you,  my  dear  count,"  says  he,*  "  are  figuring  in 
the  temple  of  Themis,  I  am  condemned  to  a  most  revolting- 
occupation.  A  work  that  Mr.  De  Balby  has  traced  across  a 
cemetery,  requires  the  cutting  of  a  deep  ditch,  in  the  course 
of  which  half  decomposed  dead  bodies  are  continually  disin- 
terred. I  fear  for  my  poor  soldiers.  The  noisome  exhalations 
will  become  more  insupportable  as  the  season  advances.  I  or- 
der vinegar,  brandy,  tobacco,  in  short,  everv  thing  that  I  can 
think  of  for  their  protection,  to  be  served  up  to  them.  As  yet 
I  have  no  sick,  but  I  fear  the  month  of  July.  In  order  not  to 
alarm  them,  I  am  continually  at  work,  notwithstanding  my 
disgust  for  this  abominable  occupation,  and  my  subordinates 
are  obliged  to  follow  my  example — ora  pro  nobis  !  The  for- 
tifications are  extensive,  and  appear  to  me  to  be  well  planned. 
I  should  like  them  to  be  more  solid,  and  then  this  place  would 
be  well  adapted  for  the  king's  purposes,  to  serve  him  as  a 
great  depot  in  case  we  go  to  war  with  la  grande  dame.  I 
am  occupied  in  taking  a  plan  of  the  entire  fortress,  which  we 
shall  discuss  when  we  meet.     Unfortunately  that  will  not  be 

before  the  end  of  September What  do  your  Berlin 

correspondents  say  ?  Are  Mesdames  Elizabeth  and  Mary 
Therese  vexed  with  our  great  king  ?  I  should  be  happy  if 
they  were,  although  I  am  more  gallant  with  the  ladies  than 
my  master.  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  have  an  encounter, 
even  as  an  apprentice,  with  these  two  Amazons.  Yes,  my 
dear  Henry,  if  there  is  a  war,  I  promise  you,  at  the  end  of  a 

*  Steuben's  MS.  Papers  (Spraguo). 
3 


50  LIFE     OP     8TKUBSN. 

second  campaign,  that  your  friend  will  be  either  in  Hades,  or 
at  the  head  of  a  regiment.'1 

We  found  another  letter  of  about  the  same  time,  in  which 
Steuben  gives  an  account  of  his  visit  to  General  De  la  Motte 
Fouque,  at  Glatz,  another  very  important  fortress  in  Silesia, 
and  gives  a  detailed  description  of  the  fortifications,  showing 
that  even  at  that  early  period  of  his  career  he  had  a  very  ad- 
vanced knowledge  of  the  most  scientific  branches  of  his  pro- 
fession. He  also  pays  an  elaborate  compliment  to  the  Baron 
De  la  Motte  Fouque,  whom  the  king  admitted  to  his  intimacy, 
and  represents  him  as  a  man  possessed  not  only  of  the  high- 
est military  attainments,  but  also  well  versed  in  history,  poli- 
tics and  philosophy. 

Steuben  was  appointed  first  lieutenant  in  1755,*  in  which 
capacity  we  find  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War. 

*  Historisches  Portefeuille,  1.  c. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Steuben's  Participation  in  the  Campaigns  of  the  Seven  Years'  War. — "Wounded 
at  the  Battle  of  Prague. — Engaged  in  the  Battle  of  Bossisach. — Joining  the 
free  Corps  under  General  Von  Mayr. — Sketch  of  Mayr's  Life  and  Achieve- 
ments.— Steuben's  Eeturn  to  the  regular  Army  as  Aid-de-Camp  to  General 
Von  Hulsen. — Wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Kunersdorf,  where  the  Prussians 
were  defeated. — Present  at  the  Battle  of  Liegnitz. — With  the  King's  Army 
in  the  fortified  camp  at  bltnzelwitz. — adjutant  of  general  von  knobloch, 
on  Platen's  Expedition  into  Poland  in  1761. — Crossing  the  Wartha  at  Lands- 
burg,  where  Steuben  was  engaged  at  the  same  Time  with  his  Father. — March 
to  the  Belief  of  Colberg. — Capitulation  at  Treptow. — Steuben  negotiates 
the  Terms. — Taken  Prisoner  by  the  Russians,  and  brought  to  Petersburg. — 
Favorite  of  Peter  III. — Beleased  by  him  in  the  following  Year. — Attached 
to  the  King's  personal  Staff,  and  employed  in  the  Quarter-Master  Gen- 
eral's Department. — Present  at  the  Siege  and  Capture  of  Sciiweidnitz. — 
North's  Statement. — Steuben  Commander,  ad  interim,  of  the  Begiment  Von 
Salmuth. — One  of  the  favorite  six  Pupils  of  the  King. — Presented  by  him 
with  a  lay  Benefice  in  the  Chapter  of  IIavelsberg. — After  the  Termination 
of  the  Seven  Years'  War  Steuben  leaves  the  Prussian  Service. — Different 
Beasons  given  for  this  Step. — II  is  Journey  to  Hamburg. — Petitions  for  his 
Discharge. — Delay  in  obtaining  it. — Visit  to  the  Springs  of  Wildbad  in  Sua- 
bta. — Makes  the  Acquaintance  of  the  Prince  of  IIohenzollern-IIechingen, 
who  appoints  him  Grand  Marshal  of  his  Court. — Duties  of  this  Office. — 
Btbubbn's  Beputation  at  this  Court.— Travels  with  the  Prince.— Offers  to 
enter  foreign  Service.— His  Befusal. — Jealousy  of  Boman  Catholic  Priests. 
— Their  Intrigues  against  Steuben. — He  withdraws  to  Carlsruiie. — Receives 
the  Order  "De  la  Fidelite"  Charles  Frederick,  by  the  Margrave  of  Baden. — 
Visits  the  Capitals  of  Germany  and  France.— Stay  at  Montpellier.— Makes 
the  Acquaintance  of-tiie  Earls  of  Warwick  and  Spencer. — Is  invited  to  visit 
them  in  England.— Negotiations  to  enter  the  Service  of  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many.— Unpublished  Letter  of  the  Prince  De  Ligne. — Steuben  abandons  the 
Idea  of  Ee-entering  active  military  Service. 

A  FTER  a  peace  of  comparatively  long  duration,  the  Seven 
a-A-  Years'  War  afforded  an  opportunity  for  military  distinc- 
tion, and  consequently  opened  a  field  to  Steuben  of  which  he 
availed  himself  in  a  remarkable  degree.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  war  he  was  in  too  subordinate  a  position  to  find  his  name 
prominently  noticed  ;  he  is,  however,  often  mentioned  in  the 
military  records  of  those  memorable  events,  and  wherever  he 
is  alluded  to,  it  is  as  a  brave  and  talented  officer,  to  whom  the 
execution  of  arduous  and  responsible  tasks  was  intrusted. 


52  L  IPE      O  F      8  T  B  i:  15  E  N  . 

His  regiment,  which  during  the  war  was  known  as  the  31st, 
belonged  to  the  army  of  Field  Marshal  Count  Schwerin,  and 
distinguished  itself  on  all  occasions  where  it  was  engaged. 
Steuben  fought  and  was  wounded  in  its  ranks*  in  the  bloody 
battle  of  Prague,  on  the  6th  of  May,  1757,  when  it  suffered 
heavily,  losing  a  colonel  and  two  officers.  In  the  battle  of 
Rossbach,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1757,  the  regiment  Lest- 
wTitz  was  in  the  van  of  the  Prussian  army,  and  shared  in  the 
glory  of  that  splendid  victory.  Even  in  the  later  years  of 
his  life  Steuben  told  his  American  friends,  wTith  pride  and  sat- 
isfaction, that  he  too  had  been  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Ross- 
bach,  and  that  he  had  assisted  in  making  the  Frenchmen  run 
away. 

In  the  following  year  Steubenf  entered,  without  prejudice 
to  his  claims  to  promotion  in  his  regiment,  the  free  corps  of 
General  Von  Mayr,  who  appointed  him  his  adjutant  general. 
The  volunteer  corps  of  those  times  resembled  very  much  what 
privateers  are  in  naval  warfare.  Without  forming  part  of  the 
general  military  organization,  they  were  employed  to  make 
inroads  and  excursions  on  their  own  account,  and  do  the 
enemy  all  the  injury  in  their  power.  This  was  the  reason 
why  young  and  brave  spirits,  fond  of  adventure,  joined  these 
corps,  anxious  to  free  themselves  from  the  severe  and  monoto- 
nous discipline  of  the  regular  army.  Here  they  found  a  field 
for  the  display  of  their  energy  and  recklessness. 

John  Von  MayrJ  is  the  prototype  of  the  military  adven- 
turer of  his  time,  and  was  looked  upon  by  the  enemy  with  al- 
most supernatural  fear.  He  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  Count 
Stella,  born  in  1716,  and  received  little  or  no  education.  His 
boyhood  was  passed  amid  scenes  of  debauchery  and  profli- 
gacy.    At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  expelled  from  Vienna, 

*  Ilistorischcs  Portefeuille,  Berlin,  1785,  iy.,  p.  447,  ff. 

\  Schloezer's  Staatsanzeigen,  v.,  p.  59,  1783. 

%  Pauli:  Leben  grosser  Helden,  Biographic  Jokann  Von  Mayr's,  1759,  iii., 
143-188,  und  K.  W.  Schoening:  "Die  Generalo  der  Kurbrandenburgischeii 
und  Koeniglich  Preussischen  Armeo  von  1640-1840."  Berlin,  1840  p.  93. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  53 

and  being  quite  destitute  of  all  means,  lie  embraced  the  sol- 
dier's career,  as  that  was  most  suited  to  his  riotous  and  daring 
disposition.  He  entered  the  Duke  of  Lorraine's  regiment,  in 
Hungary,  as  band-boy,  and  ultimately  became  sergeant  in  the 
same  corps.  His  personal  courage  was  indomitable,  and  in 
various  skirmishes  and  battles  during  the  Turkish  war,  the 
prowess  and  cool  intrepidity  of  the  youthful  adventurer  won 
the  approval  of  his  commander  and  the  acclamation  of  his 
comrades.  He  was  soon  promoted  to  the  rank  of  officer,  and 
during  ten  years,  from  1744-1 754,  he  followed  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes attendant  on  the  career  of  a  soldier  of  fortune,  under 
Count  Seckendorf,  in  Bavarian  service,  then  in  the  army  of 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  during  the  war  in  the  Netherlands, 
under  Count  Bathyani ;  wherever  danger  was  to  be  met,  or 
difficulty  to  be  encountered,  Mayr  was  always  the  foremost. 
An  unlucky  duel  with  a  brother  officer,  which  terminated 
fatally  for  his  adversary,  obliged  him  to  quit  the  service  of 
Saxony.  Frederick  the  Great,  who  was  well  aware  of  the 
courage  and  enterprising  spirit  which  Mayr  possessed,  soon 
engaged  his  services,  and  gave  him  an  appointment  as  aid-de- 
camp on  the  general  staff  of  his  army,  from  which  he  was  sub- 
sequently transferred  to  the  command  of  the  light  infantry 
corps,  raised  by  the  king  at  the  commencement  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War  to  compete  with  the  Croats  and  Pandours,  in  the 
service  of  Austria.  Mayr's  success  proved  the  wisdom  of  the 
king's  selection.  His  razzias  in  Franconia,*  his  descent  on  the 
rich  towns  of  Nuremberg,  Bamberg  and  Hof,  his  pursuit  of 
the  French  troops  to  Erfurt,  routed  at  the  battle  of  Rossbach, 
his  capture  of  Hof  and  seizure  of  two  thousand  two  hundred 
guns  manufactured  at  Suhl  in  Thuringia,  his  gallant  resistance 
with  inferior  forces  against  the  attacks  of  Marshal  Daun's 
army  on  the  lines  of  the  Elbe,  on  account  of  which  Frederick 
nominated  him  major  general,  his  active  participation  in  the 
defense  of  Dresden,  to  whose  salvation  his  corps  mainly  con- 
*  Vou  Tempelhoff:  Gcfcchichto  des  siebenjahrigen  Kriegos.  ii..  95-03. 


54 


L IFE      O  F      8 T  B U  B E N . 


tributed,*  and  finally  liis  hunting  the  Austrians  to  the  Bohe- 
mian mountains,  are  the  principal  exploits  of  this  remarka- 
ble soldier,  who  died  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1759,  at 
Plauen,f  and  whose  career  is  here  more  specially  noticed,  as 
Steuben  was  attached  to  his  corps  during  the  year  1758,  and  as 
it  was  here  he  learned  by  practice  and  experience  the  use  and 
management  of  light  infantry,  and  skirmishes  in  actual  warfare. 

The  constitution  of  these  corps  and  their  independence  from 
the  general  army  were  such,  that  the  officers  were  compelled 
to  make  their  own  dispositions,  to  form  their  own  plans  and 
calculations,  to  be  possessed  of  both  inventive  and  executive 
genius.  It  was,  therefore,  an  excellent  school  for  a  young 
officer  to  learn  that  self-reliance  and  promptness  of  decision 
in  the  face  of  danger  and  difficulty,  which  are  such  essential 
attributes  of  a  good  general,  and  which  formed  such  distinc- 
tive characteristics  of  Steuben's  subsequent  career. 

The  first  particular  mention  made  of  Steuben  in  the  annals 
of  that  war,  is  to  be  found  in  Pauli's  biography  of  John  Von 
Mayr,  who,  enumerating  all  the  officers  under  his  command, 
characterizes  the  lieutenant,  Friedrieh  Wilhelm  Von  Steuben 
of  the  regiment  Von  Lestwitz,  the  General's  adjutant  general 
in  1758,  as  a  highly  gifted  and  distinguished  officer. J 

After  Mayr's  death,  Steuben  reentered  the  regular  army, 
and  was  appointed  adjutant  general  of  General  Von  IIiilsen,§ 
one  of  Frederick's  best  captains.  Hulsen  belonged  to  the  army 
of  Prince  Henry,  then  in  Saxony,  to  which  Mayr's  corps  had 
been  attached.  On  the  5th  of  June,  1759,  he  left  Dresden  with 
ten  battalions  of  infantry,  four  regiments  of  cavalry  (about  nine 
or  ten  thousand  men  in  all),  and  joined  General  Von  Dohna 
on  the  19th,  near  Frankfort  on  the  Oder.  In  consequence 
of  this  march,  Steuben  was  brought  in  immediate  connection 
with  his  old  regiment  Von  Lestwitz.     During  the  battle  of 

*  Von  Tempclhoff:  G-eschichte  dcs  sicbcnjiihrigcn  Kriogcs,  ii.,  358. 

f  Pauli's  Loben  grosser  Ilcldcn,   iv.,  355. 

%  The  same;  iii.  181.  §  Schloezer,  1.  c. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  55 

Kay,  on  the  23d  of  July,  1759,  in  which  the  Russian  command- 
er, Soltikow  defeated  Wedell,  the  Prussian  general  and  succes- 
sor of  Dohna,  it  was  among  the  troops  first  engaged,  forming  a 
part  of  the  brigade  Grabow,  and  of  the  division  Manteuffel. 
On  account  of  this  defeat  of  the  Prussians  they  were  unable 
to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  Russian  and  Austrian  armies, 
which,  eighty  thousand  strong,  advanced  toward  Frankfort 
and  fortified  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Oder.  Here,  be- 
tween Frankfort  and  Kunersdorf,  they  were  attacked  by  the 
king,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1759,  who  had  hastened  from  Sile- 
sia to  assist  Wedell  in  his  operations  against  the  enemy  under 
Soltikow  and  Loudon,  wTho  threatened  Brandenburg  and  the 
interior  of  the  king's  old  provinces  with  an  invasion  and  occu- 
pation. This  battle,  which  proved  so  fatal  to  the  Prussian  arms, 
cost  the  king  eight  thousand  killed,  fifteen  thousand  wounded, 
and  three  thousand  taken  prisoners,  while  the  united  enemy 
lost  twenty-four  thousand  men  in  all.  It  wras  already  won, 
the  Russians  were  totally  defeated,  and  the  dispatches  of  vic- 
tory forwarded  to  Berlin,  when  the  king,  not  satisfied  with 
having  repulsed  the  Russians,  but  desirous  to  annihilate  them, 
altered  his  dispositions,  and  notwithstanding  the  advice  of  his 
tried  generals,  such  as  Seidlitz,  ordered  a  new  attack  against 
the  last  of  the  Russian  batteries  and  defenses,  wThich  his  ex- 
hausted and  tired  troops  could  stand  the  less,  as  they  were 
vigorously  attacked  and  driven  back  by  the  Austrian  cavalry 
and  Loudon's  best  troops,  who  had  hitherto  not  taken  part 
in  the  battle.  Now  a  general  flight  began.  Almost  all  the 
Prussian  generals  and  the  king  himself  were  wounded,  and 
a  great  many  killed.  Among  the  wounded  was  General  Yon 
Hiilsen.* 

It  is  not  certain  whether  Steuben  was  engaged  in  this 
murderous  battle  as  Hiilsen's  adjutant,  or  in  the  ranks  of  the 
regiment  Von  Lestwitz;  his  name,  however,  is  found  in  the 

*  Von  Archcnholtz ;  G-cschiehtc  des  siebenjahrigen  Kriegep,  fimfto.  Au- 
(lagc,  Berlin,  1840,  vol.  i.,  p.  258. 


56  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

list  of  the  wounded  of  that  memorable  action.*  The  regiment 
Von  Lestwitz,  distinguished  itself  by  its  wonted  bravery  on 
this  occasion,  and  after  the  loss  of  the  battle,  covered  the  Prus- 
sian retreat,  displaying  as  well  here  as  in  the  most  difficult 
attacks  such  a  degree  of  valor  and  intrepidity,  that  the  king 
retired  in  its  ranks  from  the  battle-field,  and  paid  to  each  pri- 
vate an  extra  remuneration  amounting  to  a  week's  pay.f 

From  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Kunersdorf  to  the  summer 
of  1761,  there  is  no  positive  mention  of  Steuben.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly probable,  however,  that  he  passed  the  entire  years  1759 
and  1760,  with  the  army  of  Prince  Henry,  and  acting  as  aid- 
de-camp  to  General  Yon  Hulsen,  was  present  at  the  battle  of 
Liegnitz.  We  find  his  name  first  mentioned  again  in  Septem- 
ber, 1761,  when  the  king,  from  his  intrenched  camp  at  Bun- 
zelwitz,  where  he  was  besieged  by  the  united  armies  of  Aus- 
tria and  Russia,  sent  General  Platen  with  seven  thousand  men 
to  Poland,  to  attack  the  Russian  rear.  At  that  time  Steuben 
was  on  the  staff,  and  adjutant  of  General  Knobloch,  whose 
brigade  was  attached  to  Platen's  corps,  which  marched,  on 
September  11th,  from  the  camp,  stormed  and  burned,  on  the 
15th,  the  Russian  provision  and  ammunition  train  at  the 
Golkowka  convent,  near  Gostyn  in  Poland,  routed  four  thou- 
sand men,  and  marched  with  nineteen  hundred  prisoners  to 
Landsberg  on  the  Wartha.  Steuben's  father,  then  major  of 
engineers  in  Custrin,  built  a  bridge  across  this  river,  by  which 
Platen  was  enabled  to  cross.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence,  that 
Steuben  and  his  father  should  both,  the  one  as  engineer  officer, 
the  other  as  adjutant  general,  have  assisted  in  different  ways 
in  facilitating  the  passage  of  Platen's  army  over  the  Wartha.J 

Platen,  after  this  brilliant  expedition,  marched  into  Pom- 


*  Historisches  Portefeuillo,  1.  c,  Pauli  v.,  p.  245  (misprinted  445),  IT  GO. 

f  Kriele:  Die  Schlacbt  bei  Kunersdorf,  pp.  35  and  103. 

\  Beitraege  zur  Kriegskunst  und  Geschichte  des  Kricgcs  von  1750-1763, 
mit  Plan  und  Charten,  v.  Stuck,  von  I^G.  Tielkc,  Churflirstlich  Saelisiseber 
Artillerie  Hauptniann,  Freiberg,  1784,  p.  05. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN",  57 

erania,  where  the  Russians  had,  in  the  meantime,  made  their 
appearance  in  large  numbers,  and,  upon  the  orders  of  the  king, 
hurried  to  the  relief  of  Colberg,  which  was  threatened  by  the 
enemy.  He  effected  a  junction,  on  October  4th,  with  the  gen- 
eral commanding  in  the  vicinity  of  Colberg,  Prince  Frederick 
of  Wurtemberg.  Steuben's  brigade,  at  that  time  two  thousand 
strong,  was  dispatched  to  Treptow,  on  the  Rega,  to  protect  the 
arrival  of  supplies  at  Colberg.  General  Knobloch  had  been, 
since  the  21st  of  October,  1761,  blocked  up  in  this  exposed  town 
by  eight  thousand  men,  so  that  he  could  neither  advance  to- 
wards Colberg  nor  reach  Platen's  corps.  The  town  was  set  on 
fire  in  different  places.  As  long  as  he  had  supplies  of  provisions 
and  ammunition  he  defended  himself  most  valiantly,  but  when 
he  ran  short  of  both,  he  was  compelled  to  capitulate,  and  sent 
his  adjutant,  Steuben,  to  negotiate  the  terms,  which  were 
agreed  to  by  the  enemy. 

The  Prussians,  accordingly,  marched  out,  with  drums  beat- 
ng  and  colors  flying,  and  laidd  own  their  arms  on  the  23d  of 
October,  1761,  the  officers  and  soldiers  retaining  their  baggage. 
The  prisoners  were,  Major  General  Von  Knobloch,  three  colo- 
nels, four  majors,  thirteen  captains,  the  adjutant  Yon  Steuben, 
in  all  fifty-nine  officers,  two  thousand  and  six  rank  and  file,  with 
four  six- pounders  and  two  three-pounders.*  In  consequence  of 
this  capitulation,  Steuben  was,  with  his  brother  officers,  sent  as 
prisoner  of  war  to  St.  Petersburg.  But,  as  the  Empress  Eliza- 
beth died  on  the  8th  of  January,  1762,  and  Peter  III.,  immedi- 
ately after  her  death,  concluded  an  armistice  with  Frederick, 
Steuben's  term  of  imprisonment  was  of  brief  duration.  This 
imprisonment  of  Steuben  and  the  other  officers  was  of  consid- 
erable value  and  importance  for  the  king,  as  they  wTere  fortu- 
nate enough  to  obtain  favor  with  the  then  Grand  Duke  Peter, 
the  inordinate  worshiper  of  Frederick,  and  were  wise  enough 
to  turn  his  predilection  for  the  king  to  such  good  account,  that 
immediately  after  his  accession  to  the  throne  he  offered  a  most 

*  Tielke,  1.  c, 
3* 


58  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

favorable  alliance  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  even  ordered  his 
troops  to  cooperate  with  the  Prussian  army.  Special  mention  is 
made  of  the  extreme  popularity  of  Steuben,  and  of  the  anxiety 
evinced  by  Peter  to  induce  him  to  enter  the  Russian  service. 
But  Steuben  infinitely  preferred  his  position  in  the  Prussian 
army  to  every  other,  and — probably  in  April,  1762 — returned 
home  with  General  Knobloch.  The  king  appreciated  most 
highly  the  service  which  these  officers  had  done  him,  and,  it 
is  very  likely,  rewarded  them  with  promotion.  It  is  to  this, 
probably,  that  Steuben  owed  his  advancement  to  the  rank  of 
captain,  and  his  appointment  as  aid-de-camp  on  the  personal 
staff  of  the  king,  in  whose  suite,  in  1762,  he  took  part  in  the 
celebrated  siege  of  Schweidnitz,  the  surrender  of  which  was 
the  brilliant  conclusion  of  the  military  operations  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War. 

William  North,  Steuben's  aid  de-camp  and  intimate  friend, 
gives  another  reason  for  this  remarkable  advancement  of 
Steuben.  However  valuable  North's  information  will  be  in 
other  respects,  we  are  inclined  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  his 
statement  in  this  instance,  because  he  was  not  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  details  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  Steu- 
ben's position  in  the  Prussian  army ;  and,  confounding  truth 
and  misconceptions,  often  did  not  comprehend  the  exact  bear- 
ing of  Steuben's  narrative  of  that  eventful  period.  We,  there- 
fore, give  his  statement  with  this  preface. 

"  The  Baron,"  relates  North,  "  had  been  for  some  time  in 
the  family  and  friendship  of  Prince  Henry,*  the  king's  broth- 
er, of  whom  he  never  spoke  but  with  the  greatest  tender- 
ness and  affection.  In  an  unfortunate  campaign  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  the  prince  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  harsh 
brother,  who  directed  him  to  retire  from  the  army,  and  or- 
dered his  aides-de-camp  to  their  different  corps,  or  put  them  on 
such  unpleasant  duty  as  might  make  them  feel  the  misfortune 

*  Net  Prince  Henry,  as  is  erroneously  stated  by  North,  but  Prince  Wil- 
liam, incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  brother. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  50 

of  belonging  to  a  man  who  hnd  dared  to  displease,  perhaps  to 
disobey  him. 

"  Steuben  was  sent  into  Silesia  to  recruit,  equip,  and  dis- 
cipline, within  a  certain  period,  a  corps  broken  down  by  long 
and  hard  service.  The  pecuniary  allowance  for  this  object 
was  entirely  inadequate,  but  who  in  the  Prussian  service  dared 
to  murmur  or  remonstrate  !  By  the  assistance  of  friends, 
funds  were  found,  and  the  regiment,  complete,  was  marched  to 
head-quarters  within  the  time.  Pleased  with  the  prompt  per- 
formance of  a  duty,  of  the  arduousness  of  which  the  king  was 
well  apprised,  the  Baron  received  his  compliments,  and,  in  a 
little  time  after,  the  appointment  of  aid-de-camp  to  the  mon- 
arch, with  the  charge  of  superintending  the  department  of  the 
quarter-master  general." 

Steuben  himself,  in  one  of  his  memoirs  addressed  to  Con- 
gress, says,  that  in  the  last  campaigns  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  he  was  "marechal  general  de  logis?  that  is  to  say, 
quarter-master  general,  and  adjutant  general  to  the  king;  and 
that  in  the  winter  1762-1763,  he  had  the  command  of  the 
regiment  Von  Salmuth,  afterwards  Hesse-Cassel.*  This  state- 
ment of  Steuben  is  originally  written  in  French  :  "  II  eut  le 
commandement  du  regiment  Salmuth,  aujowxPhui  Hesse- 
Ca-ssel."  The  English  translator  said  he  was  colonel  of  the 
regiment,  etc.,  but  Steuben  corrected  this  mistake  as  above,  in 
order  to  show  that  he  was  not  the  colonel  of  that  regiment, 
but  only  commanded  it  ad  interim.  Schloezerf  says,  that  at 
the  close  of  the  war  Steuben  was  major  and  temporary  com- 
mander of  the  fortress  of  Torgau  ;  but  Steuben  himself  does 
not  mention  his  having  occupied  this  post,  which  omission 
warrants  the  supposition  that  he  never  held  it,  for  he  speaks 
repeatedly  of  his  employment  in  the  king's  service  towards 
the  end  of  the  Seven  Years'  War. 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  Steuben  gained  the 
affection  and  esteem  of  the  king.  He  brought  him  into  a 
*  Steuben's  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii,  f  Schloezer,  1.  c. 


60  UII     OF     8  T  H  U  B  B  N  . 

chosen  number  of  talented  young  officers,  whom  Frederick 
personally  instructed  and  initiated  into  the  most  abstruse 
branches  of  military  art,  and  prepared  for  the  responsible  du- 
ties of  the  staff.  This  academy  consisted,  besides  six  officers 
who  died  young,  of  the  following:  quarter-master  general, 
lieutenant  colonel  and  aid-de-camp  in  chief,  Count  Anhalt,  and 
quarter-master  lieutenants,  Major  Count  Pinto,  Captain  Von 
Steuben,  Captain  Von  Ruits,  Von  Geusau,  Von  Pfau  and  Von 
Diebitsch.*  The  selection  of  an  officer  to  form  one  of  so 
small  a  number  as  the  immediate  pupils  of  the  great  captain, 
is  a  convincing  proof  of  the  merit  and  promise  of  the  recip- 
ient of  this  envied  distinction.  No  family  influence,  high 
birth  or  other  fortuitous  circumstances  had  any  weight  with 
Frederick  the  Great  in  the  selection  of  his  military  favorites: 
talent  and  fitness  were  the  only  recommendation  to  his  favor. 
At  the  end  of  the  war  (1702),  the  king,  in  consideration  of 
Steuben's  services,  presented  him  with  a  lay  benefice,  attached 
to  the  religious  chapter  of  Havelsberg,  producing  annually  an 
income  of  four  hundred  thalcrs.f  The  king,  in  his  parsimony, 
which  approached  very  nearly  to  avarice,  very  seldom  gave 
pecuniary  remunerations  to  his  officers,  and  it  is  a  proof  of  high 
satisfaction  that  he  made  an  exception  to  this  rule  in  the  case 
of  Steuben. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Hubertsburg, 
Steuben  quitted  the  Prussian  service.  Various  reasons  are 
given  for  this  step.  Some  accounts  say  that  he  felt  slighted 
and  injured  in  his  claims  to  promotion,  because  the  king,  not- 
withstanding his  seniority  and  higher  rank,  intended  to  re- 
move him  as  captain  of  a  company  to  the  same  regiment  Von 
Salmuth,  at  Wesel  on  the  Rhine,J  which  he  had  commanded 
ad  interim  •  others  say,  that  he  had  quarreled  and  had  a  duel 
with  the  above-mentioned  Count  Anhalt,  in  consequence  of 

*  Lebensgeschichte  Friedriclis  do.s  (IroBScn  von  J.  D.  E.  Prouss,  Berlin,  1833 
Dritter  Band,  pp.  149  and  150. 

♦  Steuben'*  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii.  %  Schloezer,  1.  c. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  01 

which  lie  had  been  obliged  to  give  in  his  resignation,*  and  a 
third  report  says,  that  he  felt  uneasy  and  unhappy  in  the 
quiet  and  monotonous  life  of  the  garrison.  He  himself  says, 
in  a  letter  written  toward  the  close  of  his  life,  that  immedi- 
ately after  the  war,  an  inconsiderate  step  and  an  implacable 
personal  enemy  had  led  to  his  leaving  the  Prussian  service. 
He,  however,  gives  no  details.  The  first  of  the  foregoing 
reasons  seems  the  most  probable,  because  it  is  asserted  by 
highly  trustworthy  authorities,  and  because  it  is  in  accordance 
with  the  king's  rough  mode  of  dealing  with  his  officers,  whose 
number  was  quite  out  of  proportion  to  that  of  the  army, 
wThich  had  been  considerably  reduced.  Whenever  an  officer 
of  that  time  felt  offended  at  the  king's  treatment,  Frederick's 
stereotyped  answer  was,  "  He  may  go  to  the  devil !"  ("  Kann 
sich  zum  Teufel  scheeren !")  With  these  words  he  dismissed 
the  afterwards  celebrated  Field  Marshals  Blucherf  and  York,;); 
who  could  only  reenter  the  Prussian  service  after  the  great 
king's  death.  Steuben,  while  residing  a  short  time  in  Halle 
and  Dessau,  feigned  sickness  and  petitioned  for  his  discharge, 
which,  however,  was  not  immediately  granted.  He  first  took 
a  journey  to  Hamburg,  where  he  got  acquainted  with  the 
Count  St.  Germain,§  then  in  the  service  of  Denmark,  and  vis- 
ited, in  May,  1764,  the  springs  of  Wildbad,  in  Suabia,  in  com- 
pany with  the  Prussian  general,  Prince  Frederick  of  Wur- 
temberg,  at  which  time  he  was  introduced  to  the  Prince  of 
IIohenzollern-Hechingen,  who,  on  the  warm  recommendation 
of  the  Princess  of  Wurtemberg  and  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia, 
offered  Steuben  the  office  of  grand  marshal  of  his  court,  wrhich 
he  accepted,  having  finally  received  his  discharge  from  the 
service  of  Prussia.|| 

*  Politisches  Journal,  1.  c. 

|  Varnhagen  Yon  Ense  :  Das  Leben  des  Fiirsten  Bliicher  Yon  Wahlstadt, 
Berlin,  1827. 

%  Johann  Gustav  Droysen :  Das  Leben  des  Feldrnarschalls  Grafen  York 
Yon  Wartenberg,  Berlin,  1854,  i.,  21.  §  Steuben's  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 

II  Politisches  Journal,  1.  c. 


G2  LIFE      OF      STEUIJKN'- 

This  office  is  one  of  the  highest  and  most  distinguished 
posts  which  it  was  possible  to  hold,  particularly  at  the  minor 
German  courts,  where  the  same  system  .of  etiquette  prevailed, 
on  a  smaller  scale,  as  at  the  larger  and  more  influential  courts 
of  Vienna  and  Berlin.  The  duties  of  the  office  consisted  in 
the  supreme  direction  of  the  reigning  Prince's  household,  and 
in  the  arrangement  of  all  court  presentations  and  ceremo- 
nies. The  personage  holding  this  office  was  always  in  the 
closest  relations  with,  and  in  the  most  intimate  confidence  of, 
the  prince,  and  the  appointment  was  invariably  conferred  on 
persons  who  had  made  themselves  remarkable  in  either  a  civil 
or  military  capacity.  Steuben  held  the  office  of  grand  marshal 
ef  the  court  at  Hechingen,  as  it  appears,  about  ten  years,  and 
gained  the  affection  and  the  esteem  of  every  one  with  whom 
he  had  any  connection.  A  cotemporary,  who  made  his  ac- 
quaintance at  this  time,  writes  as  follows  :* 

"  Steuben  filled  his  post  with  all  that  dignity,  method,  and 
knowledge  of  his  duty  which  it  eminently  required,  gained 
the  perfect  confidence  of  the  prince,  and  was  looked  upon  in 
the  most  friendly  manner  by  the  neighboring  courts,  as  well  as 
by  his  own.  He  was  affable  and  condescending  to  his  inferiors, 
and  severe  and  exact  with  those  placed  under  his  orders; 
without  that  tyranny  by  which,  at  many  courts,  the  life  of  the 
subordinate  was  rendered  miserable,  he  always  succeeded  in 
getting  the  duty  punctually  performed.  He  was  obliging, 
humane,  and  anxious  to  promote  the  happiness  of  all  with 
whom  he  had  to  deal ;  he  always  endeavored  amicably  to  set- 
tie  disputes  amongst  the  officers  of  the  court,  by  which  he 
acquired  for  himself  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  who  had  the 
good  fortune  to  know  and  appreciate  him." 

It   formed  a  part   of  Steuben's  duty  to   accompany  the 
Prince  of  Hohenzollern-Hechingen  on  his  travels,  which  ex- 
tended, during  the  period  of  his  service,  to  various  courts  of 
Germany,  and,  in  1771,  to  that  of  France,  on  which  occasions 
*  Politischcs  Journal,  1.  c. 


r 

LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  63 

he  had  opportunities  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  promi- 
nent statesmen  and  the  higher  nobility  of  that  time.  The  ease 
and  comfort  of  his  present  office,  compared  with  the  bustle, 
hardship  and  privation  of  his  former  life,  pleased  him  so  much, 
that  he  seemed  to  have  abandoned  all  ideas  of  returning  to 
the  profession  in  which  he  had  acquired  so  large  a  share  of 
renown.  Although  liberal  offers  had  been  made  to  him  in 
1764  on  the  part  of  the  King  of  Sardinia,*  and  repeatedly  in 
1*766  and  1769  by  the  German  emperor  through  his  minister 
and  General  Von  llied,f  to  enter  military  service,  he  declined 
these  flattering  proposals,  being  contented  with  the  otium  cum 
dignitate  which  he  at  present  enjoyed ;  the  more  so  as  he  had 
purchased  a  small  country-seat  nearllechingen,  called  Weilheim. 
It  is  most  probable  that  Steuben  would  have  passed 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  this  unprofitable  retirement  had  he 
not  happened  to  excite  against  him  the  animosity  of  certain 
Popish  priests  who — the  religion  of  the  court  being  also 
Catholic — were  constantly  plotting  and  intriguing  against  him 
after  his  return  from  France.  As  Steuben  was  a  firm  adherent 
to  the  tenets  of  the  Protestant  church,  he  was,  of  course,  ob- 
noxious to  the  priesthood,  who  were  jealous  of  his  growing 
influence  over  the  prince  and  the  other  members  of  the  court. 
Steuben  seeing  that  this  state  of  things,  if  prolonged,  could 
only  lead  to  disagreeable  results  for  him,  and  perhaps  cause 
dissension  between  the  prince  and  himself,  decided  to  retire. 
That  this  dissension  did  not  arise  from  any  serious  cause,  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  Steuben  continued  to  be  a  great 
favorite  of  the  prince,  and  kept  up  friendly  intercourse  with 
him  even  after  his  arrival  in  America.];  He  went  to  the  court 
of  the  Margrave  of  Baden,  at  Carlsruhe,  who,  on  the  28th 
of  May,  1769,  had  distinguished  him  with  the  cross  of  the 
order  "  Be  la  Fidelite."% 

*  Steuben's  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii.  f  Ibidem. 

\  Politisches  Journal,  1.  c. 

§  This  was  the  only  order  which  Steuben  ever  had,  and  it  is  a  mistake 


04  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Steuben  says,  in  one  of  his  memorials,  that  this  prince 
afterwards  conferred  on  him  the  rank  of  general,  but  this 
statement  does  not  appear  correct  according  to  the  court 
calendars  of  that  time,  which  we  have  carefully  perused.  It 
is  the  less  likely  as  the  rank  of  general  did  not  exist  in  the 
small  army  of  the  Margrave  of  Baden,  and  as  the  highest 
military  dignity  was  that  of  a  colonel  of  the  guards.  We 
shall  at  another  place  refer  to  the  reasons  which  probably 
produced  the  above  assertion.  It  is,  however,  a  fact  es- 
tablished beyond  any  doubt,  that  Steuben  held  a  military 
appointment  of  an  honorary  character  in  the  militia  of  the 
empire,  having  been  chosen  general  of  the  Circle  of  Suabia, 
a  species  of  national  guard,  and  scarcely  ever  called  out  for 
active  service.  This  office  was  merely  an  honorary  post,  and 
did  not  entail  any  duty  upon  its  holder. 

His  life  in  Carlsruhc  and  Durlach  was  as  inactive  and  void 
of  excitement  as  that  during  his  stay  in  Hechingen.  Having 
no  duties  to  perform,  and  having  sufficient,  though  not  af- 
fluent,, means,  he  diversified  the  monotony  of  an  existence  at 
a  small  German  court,  by  occasional  trips  to  the  capitals  of 
Germany  and  to  France.  It  was  during  this  time  that  he 
visited  Baron  Yon  Waldener  at  his  country  residence  in 
Alsace,  where  he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  Count  St. 
Germain,*  and  during  his  stay  in  Montpellier,  in  the  south  of 
France,  in  the  winter  of  1776,  he  met  and  became  acquainted 
wTith  the  English  Earls  of  Warwick  and  Spencer,  and  with 
the  French  Prince  De  Montbarey,  subsequently  minister  of  war 

when  some  American  writers  (for  instance  Benson  J.  Lossing,  "Pictorial 
Field  Book,"  i.,  333)  say  that  the  King  of  Prussia  had  given  it  to  him. 
There  never  was  a  Prussian  order  of  this  name.  It  was  founded  on  June  17, 
1715,  by  Charles,  Margrave  of  Baden,  and  consisted  of  only  thirty  members. 
According  to  §  5  of  its  by-laws  only  such  persons  were  able  to  become  mem- 
bers of  the  order  who  were  of  noble  extraction,  unsullied  lineage,  and  irre- 
proachable conduct.  From  1715  to  1769,  when  Steuben  was  made  one  of  its 
knights,  there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  members  in  all. 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  65 

under  the  French  government.  His  relations  with  those  En- 
glish noblemen  were  of  the  most  intimate  :mrl  friendly  character, 
and  he  received  from  them  pressing  invitations  to  spend  the 
ensuing  summer  with  them  in  England,  which  he  accepted.* 

Steuben  was  ill  adapted,  either  by  disposition  or  early  habits 
and  training,  to  find  enjoyment  and  satisfaction  in  a  life  of  idle- 
ness, for  any  length  of  time,  although  the  dignified  tranquillity 
of  his  life  at  a  little  court  promised  agreeable  repose  to  one 
tired  of  the  bivouac  and  the  camp.  It  was  not  calculated  to 
satisfy  his  ardent  and  impetuous  temperament,  or  induce  him 
forever  to  renounce  the  busy  scene  from  which  he  had  with- 
drawn for  a  season,  and  soon  after  his  return  to  Carlsruhe  he 
appears  to  have  sought  a  fitting  opportunity  to  reenter  active 
service.  Just  at  that  time  all  Europe  was  anxiously  expecting 
the  war,  which  some  years  after  broke  out,  in  regard  to  the 
succession  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  and  which  promised 
honorable  employment  and  glory  to  every  officer.  Steuben 
resolved  to  avail  himself  of  these  cheering  prospects,  and  for 
this  purpose  opened  negotiations,  which,  however,  were  not 
successful.  The  Prussian  officers  of  that  time  wTere  so  fully 
convinced  of  their  importance  and  superiority  over  all  other 
troops,  that  they  always  expected  to  receive  higher  rank  than 
that  which  they  had  under  the  king,  and  therefore  very  often 
rejected  propositions  made  to  them  by  foreign  powers,  who 
were  anxious  to  profit  by  their  knowledge  and  experience,  but 
were  unwilling  to  excite  jealousy  amongst  their  own  officers 
by  placing  foreigners  over  their  heads.  To  this  cause  is  to  be 
attributed,  as  it  appears,  the  failure  of  Steuben's  projects. 
The  difficulties  of  entering  the  German  emperor's  service, 
even  for  an  officer  so  distinguished  and  sought  after  as  Steuben 
was,  may  be  seen  from  the  folio Aving  letter  addressed  to  him 
on  the  4th  of  April,  by  the  famous  Prince  DeLigne,  one  of  the 
highest  dignitaries  of  the  imperial  court.f  It  reads  as  follows : — 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 

f  1    found   this   interesting  letter,  originally  written  in  French,  in  vol. 


38  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN,       v 

"I  thought  of  getting  you,  my  dear  baron,  to  enter  our 
service  even  before  the  idea  occurred  to  you,  when  I  heard 
you  speak  of  matters  connected  with  war  with  that  talent 
which  distinguishes  the  pupil  of  the  hero  from  whom  you 
have  learned  so  much.  Independent  of  any  personal  gratifica- 
tion I  should  derive,  I  believed  that  it  would  be  very  fortu- 
nate for  the  service  to  have  you  amongst  us. 

"I  should  like  you  to  see  the  emperor  when  he  passes  through 
your  province,  for  I  am  sure  that  you  would  produce  the  same 
favorable  impression  upon  him  that  you  made  upon  me.  With- 
out this,  it  will  be  impossible  to  enter  the  service. 

"  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Field  Marshal  Lascy,  of 
whom  I  asked,  as  a  particular  favor,  to  get  a  commission  in 
my  own  regiment  for  a  colonel  of  the  very  highest  distinction, 
but  he  informed  me  that  it  is  utterly  impossible,  and  not  to  be 
thought  of.  You  see  with  what  regret  I  acquaint  you  with 
this,  my  dear  baron.  If  there  were  a  war,  I  should  exert  my- 
self to  get  you,  for  our  own  sake  more  than  for  yours,  so  that 
your  talents  should  not  be  left  unemployed." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1777,  when  the  Emperor  Jo- 
seph II.  went  to  France,  General  Ried,  a  personal  friend  of 
Steuben,  urged  him  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  emperor  at 
Stuttgardt,  assuring  him  that  it  was  very  probable  that  his 
Majesty  would  invite  him  to  enter  his  service.*  It  does  not 
appear,  however,  that  Steuben  complied  with  Ried's  recom- 
mendation ;  on  the  contrary,  it  would  appear  that  he  declined 
doing  so,  and  that  he  had  definitively  abandoned  the  idea  of 
reentering  active  military  service. 

xiii.  of  the  Steuben  Papers.  Although  bearing  only  the  date  of  the  month, 
it  must  have  been  written  in  1177,  because  it  refers  to  the  emperor's  intended 
journey  through  "Western  Germany,  which  Joseph  II.  never  visited  before 
1777,  on  his  way  to  Paris. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


CHAPTER    III.* 

Steuben  visits  Paris  on  his  "Way  to  England.— Count  De  St.  Germain's  mysterious 
Message. — His  Interview  with  Steuben. — Proposition  to  enter  the  Service  of 
the  American  Congress. — Steuben's  Objections. — Eemarkable  Answer  of  Count 
De  St.  Germain. — Steuben  introduced  to  Beaumarciiais,  Franklin,  and 
Deane. — Interview  with  the  American  Commissioners. — Beaumarciiais' Offer. 
— Steuben  abandons  the  Idea  of  going  to  America. — Takes  Leave  of  St.  Ger- 
main  PRIOR  TO   HIS  KETURN   TO    GERMANY. — INTRODUCTION   TO    COUNT  ArANDA,  THE 

Spanish  Ambassador. — Visit  to  Prince  De  Mostbabey. — Return  to  Caklsruhk. 
—Advice  of  Prince  Louis  William  of  Baden.— Letters  from  St.  Germain  and 
Beaumarciiais,  persuading  Steuben  to  enter  the  Service  of  America. — He 
consents,  and  sets  out  for  Paris. — Arrival  there. — Result  of  the  Conference 
with  the  French  Ministers. — Interview  with  Count  De  Vergennes. — Steuben's 
Duties  defined  by  St.  Germain. — The  American  Commissioners  furnish  him  with 
Letters  of  Introduction. — Sets  sail  from  Marseilles  on  board  the  Flamand, 
which  conveys  Arms  and  Ammunition  to  America. — The  hazardous  Character 
of  the  Enterprise. 

rniTE  negotiations  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing  chapter  having 
-*-  failed,  Steuben  determined  to  fulfill  a  promise  made  some 
time  before  to  visit  his  friends  in  England,  and  set  out,  toward 
the  end  of  April,  1777,  on  his  journey  thither,  by  way  of 
France.  He  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  intend- 
ing  to  spend  a  few  days  in  that  capital  previous  to  his  depart- 
ure for  Calais,  in  order  to  visit  his  old  acquaintances,  particu- 
larly the  Count  Do  St.  Germain,  whom  the  King  of  France  had 
recently  appointed  minister  of  war.  Shortly  after  reaching 
Paris  he  notified  the  count  of  his  arrival  and  of  his  anxiety  to 
see  him,  to  which  he  received  in  reply,  that  the  count  would 
rather  not  see  him  at  Versailles,  but  that  he  would  be  glad  to 
meet  him  in  three  days  at  the  Paris  arsenal,  where  he  intended 
to  have  a  particular  conversation  with  him,  and  that  he  would 
send  an  officer  to  conduct  him  to  the  place  of  rendezvous. 

;:"  Almost  tho  entire  narrative  in  this  chapter  is  takon  from  vol.  xiii.of  tho 
Steuben  Papers,  at  some  places  very  often  word  for  word. 


68  LIFE      OP     STEUBEN. 

Steuben  could  not  conceive  the  meaning  of  this  extraordi- 
nary message.  "  I  had  formed,"  says  he,  in  one  of  his  memo- 
rials, "  no  ambitious  schemes,  and  was  perfectly  satisfied  with 
my  situation.  I  could  not  define  the  meaning  of  this  enigma. 
I  can  certify,  upon  my  honor,  that  among  all  the  conjectures 
I  made,  the  truth  never  occurred  to  me." 

A  few  days  afterward  the  Count  St.  Germain  arrived  in 
Paris,  and  sent  the  Baron  De  Pagenstecher,  colonel  of  the 
Legion  Conde,  for  Steuben,  who  waited  upon  the  count,  and 
was  received  by  him  in  his  cabinet.  After  observing  to  the 
baron  that  he  had  arrived  very  a  propos,  the  count  mentioned 
that  he  had  intended  to  write  to  him  to  submit  a  project 
which  he  thought  would  prove  very  advantageous,  and  for  the 
execution  of  which  he  thought  the  baron  the  most  proper  per- 
son. Then  opening  a  map  and  pointing  to  America,  "  Here," 
said  he,  "  is  your  field  of  battle.  Here  is  a  republic  which  you 
must  serve.  You  are  the  very  man  she  needs  at  this  moment. 
If  you  succeed,  your  fortune  is  made,  and  you  will  acquire 
more  glory  than  you  could  hope  for  in  Europe  in  a  great 
many  years  to  come!"  He  then  entered  into  a  minute  de- 
tail of  the  political  situation  of  the  United  States,  which,  after 
having  once  declared  themselves  independent,  would  undoubt- 
edly sustain  this  declaration  ;  adding  that  it  would  be  a  mer- 
itorious office  to  assist  in  building  up  the  grand  edifice  of  that 
rising  republic. 

He  demonstrated  to  Steuben  the  resources  which  the  in- 
surgents had,  and  the  support  which  they  could  indirectly  ex- 
pect from  France  and  Spain.  He  intimated  to  him  the  possi- 
bility of  an  open  alliance  between  the  different  branches  of 
the  house  of  Bourbon  and  the  Americans.  Ho  then  turned  to 
the  other  side  of  the  picture,  and  with  equal  discernment  de- 
tailed to  Steuben  the  many  disadvantages  the  United  States 
then  labored  under  ;  that  their  army  had  no  regular  or  per- 
manent formation  ;  that  their  enlistments,  being  for  very  short 
periods,  their  army  had  no  order,  or  method  of  keeping  the 


15  I  P  E      OF      8  T  K  U  HEN.  69 

corps  together  ;  that  the  loss  of  the  men  not  only  coutinually 
destroyed  the  formation  of  the  corps,  but  caused  the  most 
terrible  destruction  of  horses,  arms,  clothing,  and  every  spe- 
cies of  camp  equipage  ;  that  the  consumption  of  these  articles 
was  enormous;  that  they  were  in  want  of  some  officer  of  ex- 
perience to  be  charged  with  the  details,  who  was  not  only 
acquainted  with  the  regular  formation  of  an  army,  but  who 
could  trace  out  for  them  a  system  of  economy  for  the  disburse- 
ments of  the  army,  and,  by  a  rigid  inspection,  prevent  those 
abuses  which  might  otherwise  tend  to  the  destruction  of  the 
country.  To  this  he  added,  that  if  some  such  order  were  not 
established,  the  resources  of  the  United  States  must  very  soon 
be  exhausted,  nor  would  it  be  in  the  power  of  their  friends  in 
Europe  to  supply  so  enormous  an  expense  ;  that,  among  all 
the  foreign  officers  who  had  gone  to  America,  there  was  not 
one  who  possessed  sufficient  information  on  these  points, 
and  that  the  commander-in-chief  and  Congress  would  be  ex- 
tremely happy  to  meet  with  an  officer  of  experience  to  assist 
in  establishing  order,  which  was  so  indispensably  necessary. 

"You  perceive  now,"  added  the  count,  "why  I  wished 
you  not  to  appear  at  Versailles ;  I  would  not  even  wish  you 
to  be  seen  much  in  Paris ;  you  must,  however,  see  the  Count 
De  Aranda  and  the  Prince  De  Montbarey,  who  are  acquainted 
with  this  project ;  and  in  order  that  you  may  have  every  pos- 
sible information  with  respect  to  the  United  States,  I  will  send 
Mr.  Deane  to  you." 

St.  Germain  was  well  aware  that  Steuben  was  perfectly 
competent  to  perform  the  task.  Being  himself  an  ardent  ad- 
mirer of  the  Prussian  school  of  military  discipline  and  tactics, 
which  in  former  years  he  had  in  vain  tried  to  introduce  into 
the  Danish  army,  and  which  he  now  equally  in  vain  tried  to 
introduce  into  the  French  army,  he  had  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Steuben,  when  the  latter,  after  the  termination  of 
the  Seven  Years'  War,  had  just  returned  from  the  field,  and 
formed  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  sound  judgment  and  mili- 


VO  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

tary  ability  of  King  Frederick's  aid-de-camp.  Success  demon- 
strated that  his  choice  was  a  good  one  :  a  proof  that  St.  Ger- 
main had  a  much  deeper  knowledge  of  men  and  things  than 
his  adversaries  ordinarily  attribute  to  him. 

Steuben  replied  to  St.  Germain's  overtures,  that  although 
his  present  situation  was  not  an  elevated  one,  it  was,  never- 
theless, agreeable,  while  the  enterprise  proposed  by  the  count 
was  hazardous  for  a  man  no  longer  young,  and  ignorant,  as  he 
was,  of  the  English  language.  He  finally  asked  the  count,  rot 
in  his  character  of  minister,  but  as  a  friend,  if  he  would  advise 
him  to  accept  such  an  adventurous  undertaking,  to  which  St. 
Germain  answered :  "  Sir,  as  a  minister  I  have  no  advice  to 
give  you  on  these  subjects;  but  as  your  friend  I  would  never 
advise  you  to  do  any  thing  which  I  would  not  do  myself,  wrere 
I  not  employed  in  the  king's  service." 

No  determination  wras  arrived  at  in  their  first  interview. 
The  first  consequence,  however,  resulting  from  this  conver- 
sation, was  the  suspension  of  Steuben's  proposed  visit  to  En- 
gland. On  the  following  day,  when  he  saw  the  count  again, 
the  latter  recurred  to  the  subject,  and  as  he  still  preferred  that 
Steuben  should  not  visit  him  at  Versailles,  he  gave  him  a  let- 
ter to  Mr.  De  Beaumarchais,  the  author  of  Figaro,  who  took 
such  a  deep  interest  in  the  American  Revolution,  warning  him 
at  the  same  time  to  be  extremely  circumspect.  The  proposi- 
tion now  appeared  to  Steuben  less  extravagant  than  at  first, 
and  as  he  began  to  feel  an  interest  in  the  matter,  he  did  not 
need  St.  Germain's  recommendation  to  be  discreet.  Mr.  De 
Beaumarchais  introduced  Mr.  Deane  to  Steuben,  and  a  few 
days  after  Mr.  Deane  took  him  to  Dr.  Franklin  at  Passy. 

Both  the  American  commissioners  appeared  very  desirous 
that  Steuben  should  enter  the  service  of  Congress.  They  con- 
firmed to  him  the  statement,  made  by  St.  Germain,  and  ex- 
pressed their  hopes  that  he  would  be  able  to  establish  the  or- 
der and  discipline  in  the  American  army,  which  were  so  much 
wished  by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  for  which  he  had  not 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  VI 

yet  found  an  able  assistant  amongst  the  throng  of  foreign  offi- 
cers who  had  gone  over  to  America.  But  when  Steuben 
mentioned  a  disbursement  for  the  expenses  of  his  journey 
they  expressed  some  doubt  as  to  their  power  to  grant  it. 
Mr.  Deane  made  no  difficulties ;  Franklin,  however,  made  sev- 
eral. He  spoke  a  great  deal  about  presenting  him  with  a 
couple  of  thousand  acres  of  land,  to  which  Steuben  did  not 
attach  much  value,  and  which  in  any  case  could  not  furnish 
him  with  the  means  of  crossing  the  Atlantic.  As  to  advances, 
Franklin  positively  declared  that  it  was  out  of  the  question  ; 
that  he  was  not  empowered  to  make  any,  and  that  he  could 
not  enter  into  any  engagement  with  any  officer  whatever.  He 
told  him  this  with  an  air  and  manner  to  which  Steuben,  as  he 
remarks  in  a  letter  wTitten  at  the  time, ,"  was  then  little  ac- 
customed," whereupon  Steuben  immediately  took  leave  with- 
out any  further  explanation. 

He  went  thence  to  Mr.  De  Beaumarchais.  He  told  him  that 
he  intended  to  set  out  immediately  for  Germany,  and  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  hear  any  more  of  America.  As  soon  as 
Beaumarchais  was  informed  of  the  cause  of  Steuben's  reso- 
lution, he  informed  him  that  "if  he  wanted  nothing  but 
money,  a  thousand  Louis-d'ors  and  more  were  at  his  service." 
Steuben  thanked  him  for  his  generous  offer,  but  told  him,  at 
the  same  time,  that  he  was  fixed  in  his  determination  to  pay 
his  last  visit  to  the  Count  St.  Germain,  and  to  leave  the  follow- 
ing day  for  Rastadt. 

On  July  24th,  Steuben  accordingly  paid  a  farewell  visit  to 
Count  St.  Germain  at  Versailles,  and  informed  the  minister  of 
his  determination.  He  represented  to  him  that  he  could  not 
embark  on  so  hazardous  an  enterprise,  and  that  even  if  he 
would,  he  had  not  the  money  necessary  for  his  OAvn  equip- 
ments and  that  of  his  suite.  He  cited  the  instance  of  Mr. 
Du  Coudrai,  whose  services,  notwithstanding  a  previous  en- 
gagement with  the  American  commissioners  in  France,  had 
not  been  accepted  by  Congress,  and  alluded  to  the  danger  of 


12  L  1  F  E      OF      STEIIB  E  NT  . 

being  taken  prisoner  by  the  English,  without  having  made  a 
definite  engagement.  Although  the  count  appeared  somewhat 
hurt  by  Steuben's  determination,  he  invited  him  to  spend  two 
days  at  Versailles,  and  renew  his  acquaintance  with  the  Prince 
De  Montbarey.  After  dinner  the  Spanish  ambassador,  Count 
De  Aranda,  came  in,  to  whom  St.  Germain  introduced  Steuben 
with  the  following  words :  "  Here  is  a  man  who  will  risk  noth- 
ing, consequently  he  will  gain  nothing."  On  the  same  day 
Steuben  waited  upon  Prince  De  Montbarey,  who  appeared  as 
full  of  the  American  scheme  as  the  Count  De  St.  Germain. 
Notwithstanding  the  arguments  and  importunities  of  the 
French  ministers,  Steuben  declared  that  he  could  not  deter- 
mine on  any  thing  until  he  had  first  visited  Germany,  whither 
he  intended  to  set  out  the  following  day. 

When  he  arrived  at  Rastadt  he  met  there  Prince  Louis 
William  of  Baden,  a  lieutenant  general  in  the  Dutch  army, 
and  governor  of  Arnheim.  He  also  found  a  very  persuasive 
letter  from  M.  De  Beaumarchais,  who  wrote  him  that  Count 
St.  Germain  expected  his  prompt  return  to  Versailles  ;  that  a 
vessel  was  ready  in  the  port  of  Marseilles  for  his  embarkation, 
and  that  as  for  any  disbursements  he  might  need  to  make,  he 
could  dispose  of  his  funds.  This  letter  was  accompanied  by 
one  from  the  Count  St.  Germain,  who  pressed  Steuben  to  re- 
turn immediately.  The  confidence  he  had  in  Prince  Louis 
William  made  Steuben  consult  him  about  the  affair.  Being 
himself  engaged  in  the  service  of  a  republic  and  probably 
more  dazzled  by  the  prospect  of  glory  than  Steuben  was  him- 
self, he  was  of  opinion  that  there  was  no  room  for  hesitation  ; 
that  he  should  certainly  run  the  risk,  and  that  he  could  never 
find  a  finer  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself  than  that 
which  was  offered  to  him.  The  prince's  advice  was  successful, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  Steuben  carried  his  plan  into  exe- 
cution. Having  obtained  the  consent  of  the  King  of  Prussia, 
he  conferred  his  canonry  at  Ilavelsberg,  which  then  brought 
him  a  yearly  revenue  of  four  thousand  six  hundred  livres,  on 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  73 

his  nephew,  the  Baron  Von  Canitz,  and  started  again  for  Paris, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  17th  of  August,  1777. 

On  the  day  after  his  arrival  Steuben  went  to  Versailles, 
where  he  had  a  conference  with  St.  Germain  and  Montbarey, 
an<3  where  it  was  resolved  that  he  should  not  enter  into  any 
arrangement  with  the  American  agents,  either  for  money  or 
the  expenses  of  his  journey,  but  that  he  should  merely  wait 
upon  them,  to  inform  them  of  his  approaching  departure  for 
the  United  States,  and  ask  them  for  letters  of  introduction  to 
the  leading  members  of  Congress,  telling  them,  at  the  same 
time,  that  it  was  his  intention  to  make  one  or  two  campaigns 
with  their  army  in  the  simple  capacity  of  a  volunteer. 

"  From  the  information,"  says  Steuben  afterwards,*  in  a 
letter  addressed  on  the  27th  of  January,  1790,  to  Alexander 
Hamilton,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  "  I  received  from 
the  ministers  of  France,  that  the  preferment  of  foreigners  to 
military  employments  had  been  a  cause  of  discontent  in  the 
American  army,  I  foresaw  the  necessity  of  pursuing  a  differ- 
ent course  from  that  which  had  been  adopted  by  my  prede- 
cessors, in  order  to  gain  admission  into  your  army.  Being 
sure  of  success  in  my  enterprise,  as  soon  as  the  commander- 
in-chief  and  the  army  should  be  aware  of  the  advantages  of 
my  military  arrangements,  there  was  but  one  difficulty  to  sur- 
mount, and  from  the  complexion  of  the  times,  that  difficulty 
was  of  the  greatest  magnitude.  It  depended  upon  obtaining 
such  a  post  in  the  army  as  would  enable  me  to  make  use  of 
the  knowledge  of  my  profession,  and  to  render  it  beneficial  to 
the  interest  of  the  United  States,  without  exciting  the  dissat- 
isfaction and  jealousy  of  the  officers  of  your  army.  Any  con- 
ditions proposed  by  me,  under  these  circumstances,  tending  to 
insure  me  a  recompense  proportioned  to  my  sacrifices  and  my 
services,  would  have  rendered  all  my  negotiations  abortive. 
Bat  proposals  to  serve  the  United  States  as  a  volunteer,  wit'i- 

*  American  State  Papers.    Volume  entitled  "  Claims."    Washington,  1834  ; 
No   5.  !i;L  1).   11-11). 


74  LIFE     OF     STEL'BEN. 

out  rank  or  pay,  could  give  no  umbrage.  No  person,  sir,  is 
better  informed  than  yourself,  how  difficult  it  was,  at  that 
time,  to  introduce  a  foreigner  into  your  army,  even  without 
any  condition  whatever.  If,  however,  I  should  be  charged 
with  having  made  use  of  illicit  stratagems  to  gain  admission 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  I  am  sure  the  army  will 
acquit  me,  and,  I  flatter  myself,  so  also  will  the  citizens  of  this 
republic  in  general." 

Steuben  does  not  say,  either  on  this  or  on  any  other  oc- 
casion, what  was  the  illicit  stratagem  of  which  he  had  made 
use.  Nevertheless,  is  is  evident  that  it  was  his  assertion 
that  he  had  been  general  in  the  service  of  the  Margrave  of 
Baden.  It  appears  that  this  pretense  formed  one  of  the 
subjects  of  the  conversation  with  the  French  ministers,  and 
that  it  had  been  suggested  by  them.  Politically  they  were 
right,  as  Steuben,  had  he  been  introduced  only  as  a  major 
or  colonel  to  Congress,  would  never  have  been  able  to  gain 
that  important  and  influential  position  in  America,  which 
he  Avanted  for  the  introduction  of  his  inspection  and  discipline. 
There  was  probably  not  a  member  of  Congress  that  had  ever 
heard  of  a  Margraviate  of  Baden.  The  more  imposing  title 
of  lieutenant  general  secured  to  Steuben  the  right  place  in  the 
American  army.  Even  Franklin,  who  lived  then  in  Paris,  con- 
founded Steuben's  being  aid-de-camp  to  Frederick  II.  with  the 
fictitious  rank  given  to  him  by  the  French  diplomacy.  And  in 
the  United  States,  from  his  arrival  to  the  present  day,  he  is  usu- 
ally called  a  Prussian  lieutenant  general.  So  much  is  certain,  that 
if  Steuben  had  been  a  general  in  Europe,  his  position  would  have 
been  so  elevated,  that  he  would  never  have  crossed  the  Atlantic. 

The  Prince  Do  Montbarey  introduced  Steuben  to  the  Count 
De  Vergennes,  the  French  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  who,  on 
the  19th  of  August,  granted  him  a  particular  audience. 

"  You  are  determined  then  to  go  to  America,"  said  the 
count,  upon  which  Steuben  asked  if  he  considered  the  idea 
extravagant. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  75 

"  On  the  contrary,"  he  replied,  u  it  is  the  road  to  fame 
and  distinction  ;  but  I  strongly  recommend  you  to  make  an 
agreement  beforehand,  and  not  rely  too  implicitly  on  repub- 
lican generosity."  Whereupon  Steuben  remarked  that  he 
had  no  conditions  to  make  with  the  American  agents,  adding, 
that  if  the  republic  he  was  going  to  serve  was  ungrateful,  he 
expected  that  the  King  of  France  would  not  be  so,  and  that 
Count  Vergennes  and  Prince  Montbarey  would  not  allow  his 
services  to  remain  unrewarded. 

"  You  know  very  well,"  said  Count  Vergennes,  "  that  it 
is  impossible  for  us  to  make  conditions  with  you.  I  can  only 
say  to  you,  Go,  succeed,  and  you  will  never  regret  the  step 
you  have  taken." 

The  Count  De  St.  Germain  then  conversed  with  Steuben 
relative  to  the  defects  of  and  the  reforms  to  be  introduced  into 
the  American  army.  Of  these,  the  principal  were  strict  order 
and  economy  in  the  different  corps,  and  in  the  administration 
of  the  different  departments  having  the  regulation  of  the  sup- 
plies for  the  army.  The  other  points  were,  the  establishment 
of  a  rigid  inspection  and  regular  and  permanent  formation  of 
the  different  corps,  a  simplicity  in  the  maneuvers,  the  abolition 
of  all  exercise  of  parade,  and  the  easiest  and  most  expeditious 
mode  of  encamping  in  order  of  battle. 

Having  obtained  from  Franklin  letters  of  introduction  to 
General  Washington,  Samuel  Adams,  President  Laurens,  Rob- 
ert Morris,  and  other  men  of  distinction  in  America,  Steuben 
commenced  arrangements  for  his  departure.  Mr.  De  Mon- 
thieu,  one  of  the  royal  commissioners,  gave  him  the  choice  of 
two  vessels,  one  sailing  from  l'Orient,  the  other  from  Mar- 
seilles. By  the  advice  of  the  Spanish  minister,  Count  Aranda, 
Steuben  selected  the  latter,  and  set  out  for  Marseilles,  whence, 
on  the  26th  day  of  September,  1111,  he  set  sail  on  board  of 
the  twenty-four  gun  ship  "  1'IIeureux,"  the  name  of  which,  for 
this  voyage,  was  altered  to  that  of  "  le  Flamand."  Steuben's 
name  was  entered  on  the  ship's  books  as  Frank,  and  under 


76  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

this  name  the  French  ministers  grave  him  dispatches  to  the 
Marquis  De  Bouilly,  Governor  of  Martinique,  in  order  to  guard 
against  the  evil  consequences  of  capture  by  the  British  cruisers. 
His  suite  consisted  of  Peter  S,  Duponceau,  whom  Steuben  had 
engaged  as  secretary  and  interpreter  ;  of  his  aids,  De  l'Enfimt, 
De  Komanai,  Des  Epinieres  and  De  Pontiere,  who  afterward, 
as  a  captain  of  horse,  entered  the  corps  of  Pulasky.  They  were 
joined  by  Beaumarchais'  nephew  and  agent,  M.  De  Francy, 
who  was  sent  over  by  his  uncle  to  settle  the  accounts  and 
business  relations  of  the  latter  with  Congress.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  this  same  vessel  in  wrhich  Steuben  embarked 
also  conveyed  to  the  American  government  large  supplies  of 
war  material,  purchased  and  shipped  by  M.  De  Beaumarchais 
under  the  assumed  name  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  Roderique 
Hortalez  &  Co.  These  supplies  consisted  of  seventeen  hun- 
dred weight  of  powder,  twenty-two  tons  of  sulphur,  fifty-two 
brass  cannon,  nineteen  mortars,  besides  a  great  number  of 
smaller  field-pieces,  muskets  and  pistols,*  and  formed  a  part  of 
the  advances  which  Beaumarchais  made  to  Congress  as  well 
from  his  own  as  from  the  governmental  means,  and  the  value 
of  which  his  heirs  only  partly  recovered  after  about  sixty 
years'  litigation.  Beaumarchais  at  the  same  time  advanced  to 
Steuben  his  traveling  expenses,  which  were  considered  by  the 
latter  as  a  personal  loan. 

"  Recall  me  often,"  writes  Beaumarchais,  on  the  6th  of  De- 
cember, 1778,  to  De  Francy,f  "  to  the  memory  and  good  wishes 
Baron  De  Steuben.  I  congratulate  myself,  from  what  he  tells 
me,  of  having  given  so  great  an  officer  to  my  friends,  the  free- 
men, and  having  in  a  certain  way  forced  him  to  follow  this 
noble  career.  I  am  in  no  way  uneasy  about  the  money  I  lent 
him  to  start  with.     Never  did  I  make  so  agreeable  a  use  of 

*  Politisches  Journal  von  und  fur  Deutschland,  1784.  Yol.  ii.,  p.  94.  The 
Remembrancer,  London,  1778,  p.  98. 

f  Beaumarchais  et  .son  Temps,  par  Louis  do  Lomenie.  4  vols.  ;  iii.,  p. 
175  (English  translation.  London  edition,  by  Henry  S.  Edward). 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  77 

capital,  for  I  have  put  a  man  of  honor  in  his  true  place.  I 
hear  that  he  is  inspector  general  of  all  the  American  troops. 
Bravo  !  tell  him  that  his  glory  is  the  interest  of  my  money, 
and  that  I  do  not  doubt  that  on  these  terms  he  will  pay  me 
with  usury." 

For  a  man  of  Steuben's  age  and  habits  to  abandon  home, 
kindred  and  powerful  connections  for  a  life  of  danger,  priva- 
tion and  uncertainty  in  a  strange  land,  with  whose  language 
he  was  unacquainted,  and  whose  manners  and  habits  were  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  which  he  had  lived,  was  a  bold  and  haz- 
ardous enterprise  in  which  one  of  less  energetic  and  deter- 
mined character  than  Steuben  would  scarcely  have  embarked 
with  so  little  hesitation.  He  left  Europe,  where  he  had 
won  hard-earned  distinction  and  fame— where,  if  he  was  not 
opulent,  he  had  at  least  a  sufficient  competence— to  serve  a 
country  engaged  in  an  obstinate,  exhausting  and  hitherto  un- 
successful war,  where  his  prospects  of  professional  advance- 
ment were  by  no  means  assured,  and  which  offered  him  no  in- 
ducements of  a  pecuniary  or  material  nature.  Confident  in 
himself,  urged  by  high  and  generous  motives,  he  determined 
to  offer  his  sword  to  a  nation  struggling  for  her  rights  and  lib- 
erties. He  made  no  conditions.  He  bargained  for  no  re- 
ward. Military  distinction  and  active  employment  were  the 
chief  objects  of  his  ambition,  the  immediate  motives  of  his 
conduct. 


CHAPTER     IV 


Bteuben  on  his  Way  to  America.— Reasons  why  France  engaged  him,  and  after- 
wards CONCLUDED  AN  ALLIANCE  WITH  THE  UnITKD  STATES. — Tllfi  POLITICAL  IM- 
PORTANCE and  Position  of  France. — Arbiter  of  Europe  till  17G3. — Ignominious 
Peace.— England's  Supremacy  as  a  Maritime  Power.— France  degraded  to  a 
second-rate  Power.— The    dissolute  Government  of  Louis  XV. — Louis  XVI. 

ASCENDS  THE  TlIRONE. — WARLIKE  SPIRIT  AT  THE  COURT.— TlIE  AMERICAN  REVOLU- 
tion hailed  with  enthusiasm  all  over  france. — different  points  of  vlew  of 
the  different  classes  of  society. — tlie  klng  jealous  of  england. — tlie  court 
wants  to  revenge  itself  for  the  defeats  ofthe  seven  years'  war. — tlie  aris- 
tocratic and  middle  classes  imbued  with  the  principles  and  philosophy  of 
the  Time. — They  are  in  Favor  of  the  Republican  Cause. — Rousseau's  Influence 
on  the  Court  Circles. — The  political  Importance  of  his  "Contrat  Social" 
in  Europe. — Alliance  of  European  Idealism  with  American  Realism. — The 
French  Noblemen  perceive  in  the  American  Revolution  the  Realization  of 
their  own  Dreams  and  Ideas. — Segur  and  Lafayette. — Dupoetail's  Letter. — 
Franklin's  Influence  in  the  Declaration  of  War  against  England. — His 
Character  by  Schlosser. — Views  and  Designs  of  the  French  Cabinet  at  the 
Time  of  Steuben's  Arrival  in  Paris. — France  makes  an  Alliance  with  the 
United  States  after  Burgoyne's  Capitulation. — No  direct  Advantages  from 
this  Alliance. — But  France  thereby  regains  her  Position  as  Arbiter  of 
European  Politics. — Important  Consequences  of  the  American  War  for 
Europe. 

"TTfHILE  Steuben  is  hastening  to  his  journey's  end,  and  try- 
"  ing  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  life  on  ship-board  by 
mathematical  calculations,  exercising  his  companions  in  shoot- 
ing at  a  mark,  or  reading  books  like  the  writings  of  the  Abbe 
Raynal  on  America,  we  propose  to  consider  briefly  the  rea- 
sons which  impelled  the  French  minister  to  engage  Steuben's 
services  for  Congress,  and  immediately  afterwards  to  conclude 
an  alliance  with  the  United  States. 

There  is  perhaps  scarcely  an  event  in  modern  history  which 
Iims  been  so  partially  judged  by  the  American  people,  and 
therefore  so  distorted  from  its  true  historical  connection.  We 
shall,  therefore,  endeavor  to  analyze  the  motives  of  this  act, 
and  to  place  it  in  its  true  political  light. 


L  IFE      O  F      S  T  K  U  J5  B  N  .  79 

Frederick  the  Great  used  to  say :  u  If  I  were  King  of 
France,  not  a  single  cannon  could  be  fired  in  Europe  without 
my  consent,"  and  thus  demonstrated  in  the  most  convincing 
manner  how  the  resources,  importance  and  the  position  of 
France  in  the  family  of  European  States  gave  her  this  position 
of  arbiter. 

This  supremacy  was  maintained  from  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  down  to  the  Seven  Years'  War.  The 
peace  of  Paris  (1763)  which  deprived  France  of  all  her  North 
American  possessions — Canada  in  particular — put  a  sudden 
end  to  it.  The  terms  of  that  peace  were  an  unquestionable 
proof  of  the  internal  decay  of  the  country,  the  impotence  of 
the  government,  and  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  entire 
nation.  From  this  time  dates  the  decided  superiority  of  En- 
gland over  France  as  a  maritime  power.  That  nation,  which 
by  its  interpretation  of  the  terms  of  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle  (1748),  had  extended  its  dominion  from  the  Canadas  to 
the  Ohio,  and  along  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  that 
nation  which  had  confined  the  English  colonies  within  the 
comparatively  narrow  space  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Alleghany  mountains ;  that  nation,  which  in  the  East  Indies, 
also,  had  for  a  long  time  successfully  struggled  for  the  mastery, 
was  broken  in  pieces  by  the  mistresses  and  favorites  of  Louis 
XV.  The  apathy  of  the  government,  incapable  of  sivpporting 
or  maintaining  a  single  element  of  national  greatness,  now,  by 
the  peace  of  Paris,  received  the  public  testimony  of  its  dis- 
grace. France  was  thus  reduced  to  the  position  of  a  second- 
class  power.  Her  domestic  and  foreign  relations  reduced  her 
influence  in  European  politics  to  nothing,  and  even  the  Bour- 
bon family  compact,  which  was  a  sort  of  triumph  in  the  poli- 
tics of  the  house  and  family,  at  last  became  nothing  but  a  vain 
attempt  to  regain  the  lost  position.  In  1772,  when  the  first  par- 
tition of  Poland  took  place*  France  submitted  without  a  pro- 
test, without  uttering  a  syllable  of  war,  to  an  act,  which,  consist- 
ently with  her  traditionary  policy,  and  the  preservation  of  the 


80  L  I  F  E     U  F     B  T  B  IT  li  E  X  . 

balance  of  power  in  Europe,  she  ought  to  have  opposed  with 
all  her  might.  Thus  at  the  death  of  Louis  XV.  her  political 
influence  was  everywhere  destroyed,  and  new  powers,  which 
had  acquired  strength  and  size  during  the  century — Prussia 
and  Russia — threatened  to  deprive  her  of  the  last  remnant  of 
her  attributes  as  leader  of  political  and  social  ton.  On  the 
accession  of  Louis  XVI.  to  the  throne,  a  warlike  spirit  began 
to  appear  at  court  and  in  the  most  prominent  circles  of  society. 
The  humiliations  of  the  last  war  excited  feelings  of  shame,  and 
efforts  were  made  to  collect  strength  and  means  to  be  em- 
ployed at  the  first  opportunity  to  recover  the  lost  political  influ- 
ence. The  national  feeling  which,  under  Louis  XV.,  had  sunk 
low,  rose  again  to  its  proper  height,  and  the  court  favored  ev- 
ery bold  and  noble  enterprise  that  flattered  the  popular  pride. 
Such  was  the  state  of  feeling  in  France,  when  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution  broke  out.  France,  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  hailed  the  event  with  the  utmost  joy,  although  for 
various  reasons.  The  court  rejoiced  at  the  embarrassment 
of  England,  and  regarded  it  as  a  good  opportunity  to  avenge 
all  the  annoyances  and  losses  which  it  had  been  compelled 
to  endure  from  England  for  the  last  eighty  years.  A  war 
with  the  latter  power,  detested  by  all  Frenchmen  of  every 
degree,  might  recover  the  lost  glory  of  their  army  and  navy, 
snatch  the  mastery  of  the  seas  from  England,  and  revivo 
the  commerce  of  France.  The  king,  timid  and  hesitating 
as  he  was,  could  not  come  to  any  conclusion,  and  in  this  way 
lost  all  the  probable  advantages  which  would  have  resulted 
from  a  sudden  declaration  of  war.  Instead  of  commencing 
hostilities  in  the  usual  manner  by  capturing  the  enemy's  trad- 
ing vessels  even  before  the  formal  declaration  of  war ;  or  in- 
stead of  sending  a  fleet  to  America,  and  there,  in  presence 
of  the  enemy,  declaring  war,  Louis  XVI.  wavered  up  to  the 
last  moment.  In  secret  he  sent  arms  and  money  to  Amer- 
ica, while  he  publicly  forbade  the  Revolution  to  be  discussed 
in  the  cafes.    He  listened  to  his  ministers  and  counselors  with- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  81 

out  giving  an  opinion  or  a  decided  answer,  and  "deceived 
himself  so  far  as  to  believe  that  his  secret  intrigues  could  not 
be  detected,  and  that  he  could  ruin  his  rival  without  running 
the  risk  of  a  conflict  with  her.  Such  a  deception  could  not 
long  continue,  and  the  English  cabinet  had  too  much  penetra- 
tion to  allow  the  French  government  thus  to  reap  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  war  without  incurring  its  dangers."* 

A  breach  took  place  thus  with  England,  and  war  was 
declared.  Prejudiced  as  Louis  XVI.  was  in  the  beginning 
against  the  Americans,  in  his  character  of  legitimate  sover- 
eign, jealousy  of  England  finally  overcame  the  principles  of 
monarchical  policy.  The  "  Most  Christian  King"  allied  him- 
self with  the  rebels  who  were  contending  against  his  author- 
ity as  well  as  that  of  his  colleague  in  England,  with  the  her- 
etics, for  whose  destruction  France  had  formerly  made  such 
great  sacrifices  of  blood  and  treasure. 

Simple  times,  when  absolutism  was  still  unaware  of  the 
solidarity  of  its  interests,  and  had  no  combined  system  of 
action !  Even  Joseph  II.,  whose  strength  did  not  consist  in 
clear  political  conceptions,  gave  as  his  opinion  concerning  the 
alliance,  that  his  "  business  was  to  be  royalist." 

It  was,  in  general,  the  want  of  experience  in  all  colonial 
matters  that  led  almost  all  the  European  governments  which 
had  transatlantic  possessions  into  the  greatest  practical  mis- 
takes. As  the  English,  by  acquiring  Canada,  destroyed  the 
balance  of  power  in  North  America,  and  cleared  the  way  for 
the  independence  of  their  own  colonies,  so  Charles  III.  of 
Spain,  in  drawing  his  sword  in  favor  of  the  despised  heretics 
of  America,  promoted  the  claims  of  his  American  colonies  for 
emancipation.  In  this  way,  the  very  hot-houses  of  European 
absolutism,  France  and  Spain,  stirred  up  the  fire  of  revolution 
in  America,  which,  not  long  afterwards,  reacted  on  their  own 
countries  with  the  most  terrible  effect.     The  consequences  of 

*  Memoirs  of  Count  Segur,  vol.  i.,  p.  100. 
4* 


82  L  I  F  8      O  P      S  TEUB  E  X  . 

the  American  war,  however,  very  soon  proved  to  them  their 
short-sighted  rashness,  and  made  them  more  prudent  in  the 
future.  When,  in  1790,  Louis  XVI.  was  advised  to  assist 
Tippc  Sahib  against  England,  he  most  positively  declined 
adopting  the  suicidal  policy  of  encouraging  rebels — a  policy 
which  Count  Aranda,  one  of  the  most  far-seeing  statesmen  of 
the  last  century,  understood,  even  during  the  American  war.* 
He  had  scarcely  signed  the  peace  of  Paris,  which  declared  the 
United  States  independent,  when,  convinced  that  the  mutual 
advantages  between  Spain  and  her  colonies  did  not  depend 
upon  their  political  relations,  he  advised  the  king,  in  a  very  re- 
markable memorial,!  to  give  up  all  his  American  possessions, 
except  the  islands,  and  to  erect  three  independent  kingdoms 
of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Costa  Firma,  for  the  princes  of  his  house. 
In  this  memorial,  the  wise  Aranda  foresaw  and  predicted  that 
the  United  States  must  grow  to  gigantic  proportions,  and  that, 
in  a  very  short  time,  they  would  threaten  the  Spanish  colonies, 
first  in  Florida,  and  that  the  example  given  by  the  northern 
republic  would  produce  the  most  disastrous  results. 

To  return,  however,  to  France;  all  the  political  reasons 
would  have  failed  to  induce  Louis  XVI.  and  the  French  court 
to  declare  war  with  England,  were  it  not  for  another  power, 
which,  availing  itself  of  the  occasion  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, for  the  first  time,  with  youthful  impetuosity,  took  part  in 
European  politics.  This  power  was  the  Philosophy  of  that 
time,  which,  in  contradiction  to  the  corruption  of  the  mon- 
archy and  the  anomalies  of  the  existing  relations  of  Church  and 
State,  made  Nature  the  standard  by  which  it  judged  the  laws, 
manners,  and  condition  of  things.  It  was  based  upon  the 
philosophical  doctrines  and  principles  of  Rousseau,  as  developed 
in  his  "  Contrat  Social."  This  important  work  presupposes  a 
natural,  primitive  state  of  society,  and  certain  inalienable  rights 
by  means  of  which  an  agreement  was  made  between  men  for 

*  Gervinus,  Geschichte  des  XIX.  Jahrhundcrt?,  iii.  35  and  36. 
f  Mora,  Mejico  y  Bba  Rovoluciones.     Parte,  1830;  iii.,  275. 


LIFE      OP     STEUBEN.  83 

their  mutual  enjoyment,  happiness,  and  defense  against  the 
encroachments  of  tyranny,  which,  however,  finally  succeeded 
in  subjugating  the  majorit}r.  Rousseau  proclaims  it  to  be  the 
object  of  all  political  organization  to  vindicate  those  rights, 
and  to  return  to  the  original  condition  of  things,  a  principle 
than  which  none  at  that  time  could  be  considered  more  revo- 
lutionary, as  it,  of  course,  implied  the  ruin  of  the  status  quo. 
This  philosophy  prevailed  at  that  time,  and  carried  with  it  not 
only  France,  but  all  civilized  Europe.  The  ideal  pretensions 
springing  from  this  way  of  thinking,  were  already  predominant 
towards  the  end  of  Louis  XV.'s  reign;  but,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  American  Revolution,  they  had  penetrated  the 
minds  of  the  educated  middle  classes.  Independently  of  the 
court  circle,  this  public  opinion  gained  daily  a  more  absolute 
intellectual  dominion,  and  speedily  spread  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  more  aristocratic  literary  circles,  and  entered  that  of 
the  people.  In  this  Avay,  these  ideal  pretensions,  which,  in 
the  beginning,  had  only  made  a  tame  and  isolated  opposition 
to  the  ruling  powers,  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  militant 
democracy,  bitterly  attacking  all  temporal  and  spiritual  power. 
The  upper  classes,  even,  weary  of  the  old  system,  and  attract- 
ed by  the  charni  of  novelty,  began  to  flirt  with  the  democratic 
opinions  of  the  day,  and  introduce  them  at  court,  where  it 
soon  became  fashionable  to  use  the  cant  of  this  philosophy. 

If,  with  regard  to  England,  the  nobility  and  educated 
classes,  who  constituted  public  opinion,  shared  the  sentiments 
of  the  court  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  their  anxiety  for 
war,  they,  nevertheless,  gave  prominence  to  their  ideal  de- 
mands, which  appeared  to  them  the  principal  consideration, 
and  in  this  way  introduced  an  ally  into  politics,  which,  finally, 
by  its  supremacy,  overcame  the  reluctance  of  the  king,  and,  at 
last,  brought  to  pass  the  alliance  with  the  United  States.  The 
court  expected  to  turn  public  opinion  to  its  own  profit ;  but 
public  opinion,  on  the  contrary,  made  use  of  the  court,  and  it 
was  the  only  winning  party.      Philosophy  never  exerted  so 


84  LIFE     OP     H  T  B  U  B  E  N 

direct  and  decisive  an  influence  in  politics  at  any  previous  or 
subsequent  period,  and  on  no  previous  or  subsequent  occasion 
did  politicians  commit  so  great  a  practical  fault. 

Thus  the  idealism  of  Europe,  confounding  form  and  sub- 
stance, became  a  real,  positive  power,  by  its  alliance  with  poli- 
tics, and  it  contributed,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  to  the 
victory  of  American  realism.  All  Europe  accepted  as  a  truth 
that  the  contest  between  England  and  her  colonies  was  a  con- 
test between  despotism  and  liberty,  as  these  were  understood 
under  the  influence  of  the  new  philosophy  of  enlightenment. 
It  was  thought  that,  in  the  transatlantic  republic,  the  long 
looked-for  ideal  had  been  discovered.  The  mere  word  ''re- 
public," recalling  the  classic  associations  of  antiquity,  called 
forth  an  enthusiasm  amounting  to  fanaticism,  and  incompre- 
hensible at  the  present  day. 

It  would  be  inappropriate  in  this  place  to  detail  at  length 
the  grounds  of  this  state  of  things.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  pur- 
pose to  give  prominence  to  the  fact,  that,  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  American  war,  the  civilized  world  in  Europe,  and  es- 
pecially in  France,  longed  for  the  realization  of  their  ideas  of 
equality. 

Being  unable  to  realize  them  at  home,  where  the  historical 
tradition  and  the  existing  political  powers  were  in  their  way, 
they  turned  their  eyes  toward  America,  in  which  they  be- 
lieved they  had  discovered  the  land  where  their  dreams,  hopes 
and  ideals  would  be  fulfilled.  So  the  struggling  colonies  be- 
came the  favorites  of  European  aristocratic  society  as  far  as  it 
was  governed  by  the  revolutionary  French  philosophy  of  that 
period.  In  their  blind  enthusiasm  they  overrated  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  and  its  immediate  results  for  Europe  as  much 
as  they  underrated  the  influence  and  strength  of  the  ruling 
powers  at  home.  In  their  comprehension  of  things,  that  had 
really  long  come  to  pass  in  America  which  only  existed  in 
Europe  in  the  vague  form  of  a  desire.  In  America  there  were 
no  old  distinctions  of  classes,  and  the  germ  of  the  new  were 


LIFE      OF      ST  E  U  BEN.  85 

too  little  developed  to  be  visible.  American  society  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  union  of  all  the  free  and  equal  inhabitants  of  the 
country;  the  toleration  of  all  religions,  and  the  non-existence 
of  the  kingly  dignity  was  a  proof  of  superior  human  sagacity 
and  popular  virtue.  Thus  was  the  conclusion  come  to  in  Eu- 
rope, and  particularly  in  France,  that  their  long  cherished 
ideas  of  government  and  society  were  not  mere  empty  vis- 
ions, as  the  Americans  showed  that  they  were  practical  and 
realizable,  and  that,  therefore,  it  was  a  duty  to  bring  them 
into  effect.  In  reasoning  thus  it  was  overlooked,  that  what 
was  laid  down  as  a  postulate  for  Europe,  was  the  result  of  a 
distinctly  defined  historical  development  in  America ;  that 
there  being  no  king  in  the  United  States  did  not  arise  from 
any  abstract  detestation  of  a  monarchy,  but  from  the  absence 
of  relations  with  the  other  dynasties  of  Europe ;  that  the  po- 
litical recognition  of  all  religions  as  equal,  one  of  the  princi- 
pal causes  of  the  national  greatness  of  the  United  States,  was 
here  as  much  a  matter  of  course  as  it  was  the  reverse  in  Eu- 
rope from  precisely  opposite  reasons  ;  in  short,  that  what  was 
natural  health,  perceptible,  tangible,  and  hard  reality  in  Amer- 
ica, was  nothing  but  a  conditional  conclusion  from  false  prem- 
ises and  the  sickly  influences  of  a  politically  corrupt  time  in 
Europe. 

The  French  nobility  which,  so  to  speak,  gave  the  first 
legitimate  importance  to  the  movement,  and  introduced  it  to 
court,  went  so  far  as  representatives  of  la  grande  nation.,  that 
they  only  found  in  America  the  execution  of  the  programme 
which  had  been  designed  in  Europe.  In  their  vanity  they  only 
saw  their  own  reflection  in  the  Americans  ;  they  condescended 
graciously  to  applaud,  and  imagined  that  the  Americans  had 
shaped  their  Revolution  exactly  according  to  the  Paris  pat- 
tern, and  celebrated  their  own  apotheosis  in  the  events  of  the 
time.  Their  sympathies  with  the  American  Revolution  sprang 
more  from  a  sentimental  feeling  than  from  a  political  under- 
standing of  the  necessity  and  merits  of  the  case.     The  demo- 


86  I.  I  F  I      OF      ST  E  V  V.  K  N  . 

cratic  ideas  they  confessed  were  adopted  more  as  a  matter  of 
fancy  for  the  sake  of  philosophical  amusement  than  as  a  prac- 
tical principle  involving  their  own  welfare.  That  it  was  noth- 
ing but  vanity,  fashion,  and  ambition  for  military  distinction 
wirich  induced  the  French  nobility  to  take  part  in  the  battle 
for  American  liberty  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  fact  that, 
ten  years  after,  when  menaced  in  their  own  interests  by  the 
French  Revolution,  they  were  the  most  decided  enemies  of 
the  republic,  and  the  persecutors  of  every  liberal  opinion,  be- 
cause they  did  not  find  their  own  Utopian  schemes  realized. 
Count  Segur,  in  his  Memoirs,  gives  with  great  candor  the  rea- 
sons which  induced  him  and  his  companions  to  come  here ; 
they  are  a  most  convincing  proof  of  the  perfect  justice  of  our 
opinion  given  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

"  It  would  be  difficult,"  says  he,  "  to  describe  the  eagerness 
and  delight  with  which  these  men,  the  agents  of  a  people  in  a 
state  of  insurrection  against  their  monarch,  were  received  in 
France,  in  the  bosom  of  an  ancient  monarchy.  Nothing  could 
be  more  striking  than  the  contrast  between  the  luxury  of 
our  capital,  the  elegance  of  our  fashions,  the  magnificence 
of  Versailles,  the  still  brilliant  remains  of  the  monarchical 
pride  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  polished  and  superb  dignity 
of  our  nobility,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  almost  rustic  apparel,  the  plain  but  firm  demeanor,  the 
free  and  direct  language  of  the  envoys,  whose  antique  sim- 
plicity of  dress  and  appearance  seemed  to  have  introduced 
within  our  walls,  in  the  midst  of  the  effeminate  and  servile 
refinement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  some  sages  cotempo- 
rary  with  Plato,  or  republicans  of  the  age  of  Cato  and  of  Fa- 
bius.    (!!) 

"The  delegates  from  Congress  had  not  yet  been  offici- 
ally recognized  as  diplomatic  agents ;  an  audience  had  not 
been  granted  by  the  sovereign  ;  and  the  minister  conducted 
his  negotiations  with  them  through  intermediate  channels. 
Bat  the  most  distinguished  individuals  of  the  capital  and  the 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  87 

court,  the  most  celebrated  philosophers,  scholars,  and  men  of 
letters,  daily  frequented  their  habitations. 

"  To  their  own  writings  and  influence  they  ascribed  the 
successful  progress  of  liberal  opinions  in  the  New  World,  and 
their  secret  aspirations  were  to  see  themselves,  at  a  future 
day,  the  legislators  of  Europe,  as  their  rivals  already  were  of 
America. 

"  Influenced  by  a  different  motive,  the  young  officers  of 
the  French  army,  who  breathed  only  war,  were  constant  in 
their  attendance  on  the  American  envoys,  and  urged  their  in- 
quiries on  the  situation  of  affairs,  the  forces  of  Congress,  the 
means  of  defense,  and  the  various  intelligence  regularly  re- 
ceived from  the  great  theater  on  which  Liberty  was  main- 
taining so  valorous  a  combat  against  the  tyranny  of  Great 
Britain." 

Lafayette,  too,  the  most  important  champion  of  the  young 
noblemen,  makes  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  His  en- 
thusiasm, however,  is  purer  and  more  disinterested  than  that 
of  others  ;  it  even  approaches  naivete.  "  I  will  now  tell  you," 
writes  he  from  Charleston,  on  the  19th  of  June,  1777,  to  his 
wife,*  u  about  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  They  are  as 
agreeable  as  my  enthusiasm  had  painted  them.  Simplicity  of 
manners,  kindness,  love  of  country  and  of  liberty,  and  a  de- 
lightful equality  everywhere  prevail.  The  wealthiest  men  and 
the  poorest  are  on  a  level ;  and  although  there  are  some  large 
fortunes,  I  challenge  any  one  to  discover  the  slightest  differ- 
ence between  the  manners  of  these  two  classes  respectively 
toward  each  other.  .  .  .  What  most  charms  me  is,  that  all  the 
citizens  are  brethren.  In  America  there  are  no  poor,  nor  even 
what  we  call  peasantry.  Each  individual  has  his  own  honest 
property,  and  the  same  rights  as  the  most  wealthy  proprie- 
tor." 

The  Americans   contributed,   partly  from   intention    and 

*  Washington's  "Writings,  by  Jared  Sparks,  v.,  452. 


88  LIFE      OF     STEUT.EN. 

partly  without  design,  to  foster  this  belief  of  the  French  by 
their  public  documents,  however  temperate  and  business-like 
their  acts  may  have  been  in  reality.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, for  example,  is  couched  in  terms  exactly  corres- 
ponding with  the  spirit  of  European  liberalism  of  that  time, 
and  on  this  account  produced  such  immense  effects  in  Europe, 
Other  public  proclamations  of  that  time  are  evidently  designed 
to  make  foreigners  believe  that  the  development  of  their  own 
ideas  in  America  was  the  great  question  at  issue,  and  there 
was  really  no  better  way  to  make  the  Revolution  popular  and 
England  detested  in  Europe,  than  this  adaptation  of  the  lib- 
eral vocabulary  which  was  then  in  vogue.  In  opposition  to 
this,  Duportaii  says  :* 

"  Such  are  these  people  that  they  move  without  spring 
or  energy,  without  vigor,  and  without  passion,  for  a  cause  in 
which  they  are  engaged,  and  which  they  follow  only  as  the  im- 
pulse of  the  hand  that  first  put  them  in  motion  directs.  There 
is  a  hundred  times  more  enthusiasm  for  this  revolution  in  any 
one  coffee-house  at  Paris,  than  in  all  the  thirteen  provinces 
united.  It  is  necessary,  then,  that  France,  to  accomplish  this 
revolution,  should  furnish  these  people  with  every  requisite  to 
lessen  the  hardships  of  war.  True,  it  will  cost  some  millions, 
but  they  will  be  well  laid  out  in  annihilating  the  power  of  En- 
land,  which,  when  bereft  of  her  colonies,  without  a  navy  and 
without  commerce,  will  lose  her  consequence  in  the  world, 
and  leave  France  without  a  rival." 

The  people  proper  were  too  little  considered  in  France  at 
that  time  to  be  able  directly  to  contribute  to  a  declaration  of 
war  against  England.  But  they  constituted  that  popular  un- 
dercurrent upon  which  public  opinion  manifested  itself  with  a 
hitherto  unknown  certainty  of  victory.  It  was  the  first  and 
last  time  that  the  upper  classes  went  hand  in  hand  with  the 
entire  nation,  and  strove  for  a  common  purpose,  although  act- 
ing from  different  impulses  and  intentions. 

*  C.  Stedman's  History  of  the  American  War,  vol.  i.,  8vo,  p.  4?. 7. 


LIFE      OF      STEUIiEN.  89 

All  these  opinions,  vacillations,  good  intentions,  and  enthu- 
siasm, would  very  probably  have  led  to  no  result,  or  been 
only  partially  realized,  had  not  a  man  arrived  at  Paris  just  at 
this  juncture,  who  was  more  sharp-sighted,  astute,  and  pos- 
sessed of  more  diplomatic  ability  than  all  the  statesmen  of 
his  time ;  who  felt  the  pulse  of  the  French  nation,  and  knew 
how,  in  a  masterly  manner,  to  influence  and  direct  public 
opinion  to  the  profit  of  his  own  country.  That  man  was 
Benjamin  Franklin.  Were  it  not  for  him,  the  alliance  be- 
tween France  and  the  United  States  would  not  have  been 
concluded  so  soon. 

A  German  historian,  Schlosser  of  Heidelberg,  has  the  merit 
of  having  more  truly  estimated,  and  more  faithfully  described 
the  historical  and  personal  importance  of  Franklin,  than  any 
American,  English,  or  French  writer.  There  is  little  of  inter- 
est to  remark  that  he  has  not  noticed,  and  we  conceive  that 
we  can  not  do  better  than  introduce  here  what  Schlosser  says 
of  Franklin.* 

"Franklin's  appearance  in  the  Paris  salons,  even  before  he 
was  presented  at  court  or  began  to  negotiate,  otherwise  than 
through  third  parties,  with  the  minister,  was  an  event  of  great 
importance  to  the  entire  of  Europe.  Paris,  at  that  time,  set 
the  fashion  for  the  entire  civilized  world  in  Europe,  and  the 
admiration  of  Franklin,  carried  to  a  degree  approaching  folly, 
produced  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  fashionable  circles  of 
Paris.  His  dress,  the  simplicity  of  his  external  appearance, 
the  friendly  meekness  of  the  old  man,  and  the  apparent  hu- 
mility of  the  Quaker,  procured  for  Freedom  a  mass  of  votaries 
among  the  court  circles  who  used  to  be  alarmed  at  its  coarse- 
ness and  unsophisticated  trufhs.  To  what  extent  this  was  the 
case,  and  how  great  a  stir  was  made  by  republican  ideas,  par- 
ticularly the  expressions  of  the  republican,  we  have  seen  from 
the  foregoing  extract  from  the  writings  of  Segur,  who,  in  all 

*  Geschichte  des  XVIII.  Jahrhunderta,  vol.  iii.,  p.  535,  ff.,  552,  flf. 


88  LIFE      OF     STEUT.EN. 

partly  without  design,  to  foster  this  belief  of  the  French  by 
their  public  documents,  however  temperate  and  business-like 
their  acts  may  have  been  in  reality.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, for  example,  is  couched  in  terms  exactly  corres- 
ponding with  the  spirit  of  European  liberalism  of  that  time, 
and  on  this  account  produced  such  immense  effects  in  Europe. 
Other  public  proclamations  of  that  time  are  evidently  designed 
to  make  foreigners  believe  that  the  development  of  their  own 
ideas  in  America  was  the  great  question  at  issue,  and  there 
was  really  no  better  way  to  make  the  Revolution  popular  and 
England  detested  in  Europe,  than  this  adaptation  of  the  lib- 
eral vocabulary  which  was  then  in  vogue.  In  opposition  to 
this,  Duportail  says  :* 

"  Such  are  these  people  that  they  move  without  spring 
or  energy,  without  vigor,  and  without  passion,  for  a  cause  in 
which  they  are  engaged,  and  which  they  follow  only  as  the  im- 
pulse of  the  hand  that  first  put  them  in  motion  directs.  There 
is  a  hundred  times  more  enthusiasm  for  this  revolution  in  any 
one  coffee-house  at  Paris,  than  in  all  the  thirteen  provinces 
united.  It  is  necessary,  then,  that  France,  to  accomplish  this 
revolution,  should  furnish  these  people  with  every  requisite  to 
lessen  the  hardships  of  war.  True,  it  will  cost  some  millions, 
but  they  will  be  well  laid  out  in  annihilating  the  power  of  En- 
land,  which,  when  bereft  of  her  colonies,  without  a  navy  and 
without  commerce,  will  lose  her  consequence  in  the  world, 
and  leave  France  without  a  rival." 

The  people  proper  wrere  too  little  considered  in  France  at 
that  time  to  be  able  directly  to  contribute  to  a  declaration  of 
war  against  England.  But  they  constituted  that  popular  un- 
dercurrent upon  which  public  opinion  manifested  itself  with  a 
hitherto  unknown  certainty  of  victory.  It  was  the  first  and 
last  time  that  the  upper  classes  went  hand  in  hand  with  the 
entire  nation,  and  strove  for  a  common  purpose,  although  act- 
ing from  different  impulses  and  intentions. 

*  C  Stedman's  History  of  the  American  War,  vol.  i.,  8vo,  p.  437. 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEX.  89 

All  these  opinions,  vacillations,  good  intentions,  and  enthu- 
siasm, would  very  probably  have  led  to  no  result,  or  been 
only  partially  realized,  had  not  a  man  arrived  at  Paris  just  at 
this  juncture,  who  was  more  sharp-sighted,  astute,  and  pos- 
sessed of  more  diplomatic  ability  than  all  the  statesmen  of 
his  time ;  who  felt  the  pulse  of  the  French  nation,  and  knew^ 
how,  in  a  masterly  manner,  to  influence  and  direct  public 
opinion  to  the  profit  of  his  own  country.  That  man  was 
Benjamin  Franklin.  Were  it  not  for  him,  the  alliance  be- 
tween France  and  the  United  States  would  not  have  been 
concluded  so  soon. 

A  German  historian,  Schlosser  of  Heidelberg,  has  the  merit 
of  having  more  truly  estimated,  and  more  faithfully  described 
the  historical  and  personal  importance  of  Franklin,  than  any 
American,  English,  or  French  writer.  There  is  little  of  inter- 
est to  remark  that  he  has  not  noticed,  and  we  conceive  that 
we  can  not  do  better  than  introduce  here  what  Schlosser  says 
of  Franklin.* 

"Franklin's  appearance  in  the  Paris  salons,  even  before  he 
was  presented  at  court  or  began  to  negotiate,  otherwise  than 
through  third  parties,  with  the  minister,  was  an  event  of  great 
importance  to  the  entire  of  Europe.  Paris,  at  that  time,  set 
the  fashion  for  the  entire  civilized  world  in  Europe,  and  the 
admiration  of  Franklin,  carried  to  a  degree  approaching  folly, 
produced  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  fashionable  circles  of 
Paris.  His  dress,  the  simplicity  of  his  external  appearance, 
the  friendly  meekness  of  the  old  man,  and  the  apparent  hu- 
mility of  the  Quaker,  procured  for  Freedom  a  mass  of  votaries 
among  the  court  circles  who  used  to  be  alarmed  at  its  coarse- 
ness and  unsophisticated  trufhs.  To  what  extent  this  was  the 
case,  and  how  great  a  stir  w^as  made  by  republican  ideas,  par- 
ticularly the  expressions  of  the  republican,  we  have  seen  from 
the  foregoing  extract  from  the  writings  of  Segur,  who,  in  all 

*  Geschichte  des  XVIII.  Jahrlmndert3,  vol.  iii.,  p.  535,  ff.,  552,  ff. 


90  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

tilings  that  related  to  his  own  line  or  circle,  is  unquestionably 
the  best  authority. 

"  Franklin  neither  mistook  himself  nor  the  people  with 
whom  he  had  to  deal.  He  knew  mankind  thoroughly,  and 
was  well  aware  how  to  use  the  Paris  admiration  of  himself, 
and  how  to  deal  with  the  salons.  In  his  private  correspond- 
ence he  describes  the  life  in  Paris  and  the  intense  worship 
which  he  received  on  all  hands,  in  a  comical,  though  masterly 
style.  But  as  an  American  merchant,  he  took  every  advan- 
tage that  a  skillful  dealer  would  derive  from  the  fascination 
of  his  customers.  If  we  compare  the  description  given  by 
Lacratelle,  Lafayette,  Segur  and  others,  of  the  noise  made  by 
Franklin,  with  the  private  letters  which  he  wrote  himself  from 
Passy  to  America,  we  shall  see  what  miserable  bunglers  in 
diplomacy  the  most  adroit  of  the  Parisians  were,  when  com- 
pared with  the  old  printer.  They  were  led  by  long  practice, 
an  art  or  science  ;  he  followed  nature  and  his  own  instincts, 
which  were  never  wrongs  and  were  never  exasperated.  Nev- 
ertheless,  so  long  as  the  war  in  America  was  not  successful,  ho 
found  that  his  negotiations  made  but  slow  and  halting  prog- 
ress." 

Steuben  reached  Paris  about  this  time.  The  French  cabi- 
net was  already  inclined  to  favor  the  colonies  in  their  policy. 
The  engagement  of  Steuben  shows  sufficiently  the  political 
state  of  things,  and  proves  that  in  May,  1777,  the  ministry 
regarded  the  alliance  with  America  as  good  as  concluded. 

Steuben  was  a  foreigner,  and  not  even  the  subject  of  a 
powerful  prince.  Even  if  a  Frenchman  with  Steuben's  ac- 
quirements was  to  be  found,  he  would  not  have  been  engaged 
in  his  place  in  the  then  existing  condition  of  affairs,  because 
he  could  not  be  abandoned  or  disavowed  in  case  of  fail- 
ure. However  personally  flattering  the  propositions  made  to 
him,  they  were  made  in  the  exclusive  interest  of  the  cabinet, 
and  did  not  give  Steuben  the  most  remote  guarantee  for  the 
future.     Should  he  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  English  he  would 


LIFE      OF      STEUIifiN,  91 

have  been  ruthlessly  sacrificed  without  a  pang  or  an  effort  to 
rescue  him.  Should  Congress  refuse  to  accept  his  services, 
having  lost  his  former  apointments,  he  would  have  been 
thrown  on  the  charity  of  the  court  of  St.  Germain.  It  will  be 
shown  hereafter  that  notwithstanding  the  success  of  the  cause, 
no  further  notice  of  Steuben  was  taken  by  the  French  court, 
and  that  his  memorials  were  left  unanswered  because  he  was 
no  longer  wanted.  He  was  even  compelled  to  lower  himself 
by  making  a  defense  against  the  scornful  reproach  in  this 
country  that  he  was  a  French  pensioner.  He  did  not  even  get 
from  the  French  government  his  traveling  expenses  to  America. 

When  the  news  reached  Paris,  towards  the  end  of  the 
year  1777,  of  the  capitulation  of  Burgoyne,  Fiance  hesitated 
no  longer  to  recognize  the  young  republic,  and  on  the  6th  of 
February,  1778,  concluded  an  alliance,  on  the  condition  that 
the  United  States  should  not  give  up  their  independence  and 
become  again  subjects  of  England. 

u  More  important  for  France,"  continues  Schlosser,  "  and 
for  all  Europe  (which  was  then  the  blind  satellite  of  Versailles 
fashion),  than  this  alliance  which  caused  a  sanguinary  wrar,  was 
the  impression  which  Franklin's  first  appearance  at  the  French 
court  and  his  subsequent  relations  at  Versailles,  made  upon  all 
the  intelligent  men  of  the  upper  classes.  This  impression  was 
not  confined  to  France.  It  was  also  perceptible  in  Germany, 
where  it  was  exactly  coincident  with  the  reform  of  Basedow 
and  others  relative  to  the  old  school  and  educational  system. 

"The  scene  which  took  place  on  the  20th  of  March,  J 778, 
when  the  American  plenipotentiaries  were  presented  to  the 
king  and  introduced  at  court,  belongs  to  the  history  of 
the  Revolution,  since  not  only  those  who  were  entitled  to 
appear  at  the  palace  were  present  in  large  numbers,  but  the 
entire  court-yard  was  filled  with  crowds  of  the  populace. 
The  people  exulted  about  Franklin  solely  as  the  representative 
of  patriarchal  republics  and  pastoral  simplicity.  Of  the  three 
plenipotentiaries,    Franklin    alone    remained    as   ambassador. 


92  IJFE     OF     STEUBEX. 

Silas  Deane  was  soon  recalled  by  Congress,  and  Lee  had  made 
himself  suspected  and  disliked.  Every  thing  devolved  on 
Franklin.  He  was  the  exact  picture  of  that  ideal  democracy 
which  Rousseau  had  so  beautifully  described.  Franklin  was 
accompanied  by  an  immense' number  of  Americans,  and  when 
ho  entered  the  reception  rooms  of  the  palace,  was  received 
with  clapping  of  hands  and  loud  cheers,  notwithstanding  that 
strict  etiquette  forbade  any  such  demonstration.  When  the 
audience  of  the  king  wTas  over,  and  the  embassy  proceeded 
with  its  brilliant  train  across  the  courts  of  the  palace  to  visit 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  it  was  greeted  by  the  people 
with  similar  cheers  and  applause.  Wherever  Franklin  was 
seen  in  Paris  he  was  the  great  attraction  of  the  day,  and  was 
always  cheered  by  the  crowd.  Even  the  young  courtiers, 
with  all  their  sentimentality  and  frivolity,  found  the  contrast 
quite  charming  between  the  lace-covered,  embroidered  coats 
of  the  court  attendants,  their  curled,  powdered,  and  pomade- 
besmeared  hair,  and  the  lank,  unpowdered  hair,  round  hat, 
and  simple  brown  cloth  of  the  republican's  coat.  In  the 
month  of  May,  of  the  following  year  (1779),  Franklin  was 
formally  accredited  as  sole  representative  of  the  United  States 
at  the  French  court. 

"The  old  man  was  specially  constituted  to  lend  himself, 
playfully,  to  ail  the  follies  of  the  day  without  being  spoiled  in 
the  least  by  the  charming  politeness  of  a  people  whose  polite- 
ness and  gallantry  were,  at  that  time,  their  principal  merit ;  to 
turn  his  intercourse  with  the  ladies  to  account ;  to  show  the 
utmost  gratitude  for  all  the  attentions  that  were  shown  him, 
and  yet,  like  a  sensible  merchant,  not  to  depart,  by  a  single 
hair's  breadth,  from  the  track  of  solid  and  profitable  business. 
As  a  practical  citizen,  looking  only  to  positive  profit,  Franklin 
regarded  all  fashionable  excitements  as  occurrences  favorable 
to  business,  from  which  the  greatest  advantage  might  be  de- 
rived, lie  informs  us  himself  that  he  dined  out  six  times  a 
wreek,  and  that  he  made  use  of  the  inconstant  admiration  and 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  93 

worship  of  the  ladies,  just  as  all  diplomatists  are  wont  to 
do." 

So  far  Schlosser. 

One  thing  is  certain,  that  of  the  two  contracting  parties, 
the  United  States  alone  derived  any  advantage  from  the  war, 
since  France  asked  no  reward  for  her  exertions.  Whether  it 
was  short-sightedness  or  generosity  that  prevented  it,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  had  the  French  cabinet  wished,  they 
might  easily  have  profited  by  the  necessities  and  embarrass- 
ments in  which  the  United  States  were  placed  towards  the 
end  of  the  war,  and  have  secured  for  themselves  a  large  share 
of  the  spoil.  Even  the  advantages  which  were  reckoned  upon 
for  the  commerce  of  France  were  not  realized,  since,  imme- 
diately after  peace  was  concluded,  the  Americans  returned 
to  the  English  manufactures,  to  which  they  were  naturally 
inclined  by  community  of  race  and  requirements.  The  war 
cost  France  fifteen  hundred  million  francs,  and  increased  con- 
siderably her  financial  difficulties.  The  only  real  gain — and 
that  was  only  ideal — for  France  consisted  in  the  rehabilitation 
of  the  glory  of  her  arms,  and  the  reconquest  of  her  position  as 
arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  Europe. 

The  most  important  and  enduring  consequence  of  the  war, 
however,  was  that  what,  till  then,  only  existed  in  the  feeling 
and  conviction  of  the  people,  was  now  introduced  into  the  circle 
of  the  actual  public  interests  of  the  old  State,  and  that  the  reali- 
zation of  all  that  was  considered  most  excellent  and  perfect  in 
social  and  political  life — the  successful  example  of  which  was  to 
be  found  in  America — was  tried  in  France  eleven  years  later, 
by  which  legitimate  monarchy  was  overthrown.  The  war  in 
America  wras  a  pastoral  sport  in  comparison  with  the  tragedy 
which  set  all  Europe  in  a  blaze  at  the  time  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution, the  last  act  of  which  is  still  far  from  being  represented. 


G  11  A  P  I  E  R     V  . 

Tempestuous  Passage  of  the  Flamand.— Arrival  at  Portsmouth  on  tiik  1st  of  De- 
cember, 1777.— Steuben  taken  for  an  Enemy.— His  flattering  Reception  by  Gov- 
ernor Langdon.— Swwb  of  the  Capture  of  Burgoyne.— Steuben's  Letters  to 
Congress  and  Washington.— Steuben  proceeds  to  Boston.— Answer  of  Wash- 
ington, ordering  him  to  go  to  York.— Preparations  for  the  Journey.— Dinner 
at  Hancock's.— Anecdote  of  Samuel  Adams.— Duponceait's  Narrative  of  the 
Journey.—  The  Tory  Landlord  at  Worcester.— Simplicity  of  Manners  of  the 
Connecticut  People.— Popularity  of  the  King  of  Prussia.— State  of  Things  in 
Congress.— Party  Animosities.— The  Conway  Cabal.— King  "Cong."  Bunch  of 
Kings.— Steuben  well  received  by  the  prominent  Men  of  Congress.— Let- 
ter to  John  Hancock.— His  Arrangement  with  Congress.— Its  Resolutions. 
—Steuben  sets  out  for  Valley  Forge.— Ball  at  Lancaster  given  in  his  Honor. 
—First  Acquaintance  with  William  North.— Steuben  received  in  Camp  by 
Washington  with  Marks  of  great  Distinction.— Condition  of  the  Army  in 
Valley  Forge.— Reasons  why  the  American  Revolution  was  successful.— 
Washington's  Character.— His  Military  and  Political  Importance. 

rnilE  "Flamand"  had  a  very  dangerous  and  tempestuous 
A  passage  of  sixty-six  days.  She  not  only  encountered  two 
violent  gales,  each  of  three  days'  duration — one  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, off  the  African  coast,  and  the  other  off  the  coast  of 
Nova  Scotia— but  she  also  had  her  forecastle  three  times  on 
fire,  and  that,  too,  w^ith  seventeen  hundred  weight  of  gun- 
powder on  board.  A  mutiny  of  the  crew  made  it  necessary 
for  the  passengers  to  fight,  fourteen  against  eighty-four,  in  or- 
der to  secure  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels.  She  arrived,  however, 
safely,  on  the  1st  day  of  December,  1777,  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire. 

"  It  was  a  fine,  clear  bright  day.  Nature  had  put  on  her 
gaudiest  attire,  no  doubt  to  receive  us,"  says  Duponceau. 
Steuben  had  been  told,  while  in  France,  that  the  colors  of 
the  British  uniform  had  been  adopted  by  the  American 
army,  so  that,  when  he  and  his  secretary  Duponceau,  arrived 
in  scarlet  regimentals,  turned  up  with  blue,  they  were  at  first 


L  IFE     O  F     S  T  EUIIEN,  95 

taken  for    enemies,  but   they  soon    showed   that   they  were 
friends. 

"  The  more  disastrous,"  writes  Steuben  to  his  friend  Frank, 
in  Hechingen,*  "the  passage,  the  more  flattering  was  my  ar- 
rival in  America.  Before  entering  the  port  of  Portsmouth,  I 
ordered  my  secretary  to  go  ashore  in  a  boat,  and  to  inform 
General  Langdon,  the  commander  of  the  place,  of  my  arrival, 
who  came  on  board  himself  to  take  me  and  my  officers  ashore 
in  his  boat.  While  we  were  landing,  we  were  saluted  by  the 
guns  from  the  fortress  and  from  the  ships  in  the  port.  Sev- 
eral thousand  of  inhabitants  welcomed  me  in  the  most  flatter- 
ing way.  Mr.  Langdon  took  us  to  his  house  to  dine.  In  the 
meantime,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  crowded  together 
'  to  see  the  elephant.'  Although  exhausted  by  the  hardships 
of  the  voyage,  I  went  the  next  day  to  examine  the  fortifica- 
tions ;  on  the  following  day  I  reviewed  the  troops  of  the 
garrison." 

It  was  at  the  above-mentioned  dinner  at  Governor  Lang 
clou's,  that  Steuben  and  his  suite  heard,  for  the  first  time,  of 
the  capture  of  General  Burgoyne  and  his  whole  army.  They 
naturally  hailed  it  as  an  omen  of  good  portent. 

While  in  Portsmouth,  Steuben  wrote  to  Congress  and  to 
the  general-in-chief,  and  inclosing  a  copy  of  his  letters  of  in- 
troduction from  Franklin,  Deane,  and  Beaumarchais,  offered 
his  services  as  a  volunteer  in  the  American  cause.  We  sub- 
join these  two  letters  in  full,  as  the  best  and  most  authentic 
proofs  of  the  spirit  which  animated  Steuben  in  crossing  the 
Atlantic. 

To  Congress  he  wrote  on  the  6th  of  December,  1777,  as 
follows,!  viz. : 

"  Honorable  Gentlemen  : — The  honor  of  serving  a  na- 
tion, engaged  in  the  noble  enterprise  of  defending  its  rights 
and  liberties,  was  the  motive  that  brought  me  to  this  conti- 

*  Schloezer's  Briefwechsel,  xlii.,  Heft,  1780,  p.  327,  ff. 
f  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  114. 


9(5 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN 


nent.  I  ask  neither  riches  nor  titles.  I  am  come  here  from 
the  remotest  end  of  Germany,  at  my  own  expense,  and  have 
given  up  an  honorable  and  lucrative  rank.  I  have  made  no 
condition  with  your  deputies  in  France,  nor  shall  I  make  any 
with  you.  My  only  ambition  is  to  serve  you  as  a  volunteer, 
to  deserve  the  confidence  of  your  general-in-chief,  and  to  fol- 
low him  in  all  his  operations,  as  I  have  done  during  seven 
campaigns  with  the  King  of  Prussia.  Two-and- twenty  years 
spent  in  such  a  school  seem  to  give  me  a  right  of  thinking 
myself  among  the  number  of  experienced  officers;  and  if  I  am 
possessed  of  the  acquirements  in  the  art  of  war,  they  will  be 
much  more  prized  by  me  if  I  can  employ  them  in  the  service 
of  a  republic  such  as  I  hope  soon  to  see  America.  I  should 
willingly  purchase,  at  the  expense  of  my  blood,  the  honor  of 
having  my  name  enrolled  among  those  of  the  defenders  of  your 
liberty.  Your  gracious  acceptance  will  be  sufficient  for  me, 
and  I  ask  no  other  favor  than  to  be  received  among  your  offi- 
cers. I  venture  to  hope  that  you  will  grant  this  my  request, 
and  that  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  send  me  your  orders  to 
Boston,  where  I  shall  await  them,  and  take  suitable  measures 
in  accordance." 

The  letter  to  Washington  reads  as  follows,*  viz. : 
"  Sin : — The  inclosed  copy  of  a  letter,  the  original  of  which 
I  shall  have  the  honor  to  present  to  your  Excellency,  will  in- 
form you  of  the  motives  that  brought  me  over  to  this  land.  I 
shall  only  add  to  it,  that  the  object  of  my  greatest  ambition  is 
to  render  your  country  all  the  service  in  my  power,  and  to  de- 
serve the  title  of  a  citizen  of  America,  by  fighting  for  the  cause 
of  your  liberty.  If  the  distinguished  ranks  in  which  I  have 
served  in  Europe  should  be  an  obstacle,  I  had  rather  serve  un- 
der your  Excellency  as  a  volunteer,  than  to  be  an  object  of 
discontent  to  such  deserving  officers  as  have  already  distin- 
guished themselves  among  you.  Such  being  the  sentiments  I 
have  always  professed,  I  dare  hope  that  the  respectable  Con- 
*  Washington's  Writings,  by  Sparks,  v..  528. 


LIFE      OF     STEUISEX.  97 

gress  of  the  United  States  of  America  will  accept  my  services. 
I  could  say,  moreover,  were  it  not  for  the  fear  of  offending 
your  modesty,  that  your  Excellency  is  the  only  person  under 
whom,  after  having  served  the  King  of  Prussia,  I  could  wish 
to  follow  a  profession,  to  the  study  of  which  I  have  wholly  de- 
voted myself.  I  intend  to  go  to  Boston  in  a  few  days,  where 
I  shall  present  my  letters  to  Mr.  Hancock,  member  of  Con- 
gress, and  there  I  shall  await  your  Excellency's  orders." 

Steuben  left  Portsmouth  on  the  12th  of  December,  1777, 
and  set  out  for  Boston  by  land,  where  he  arrived  on  the  14th, 
and  was  received  as  cordially  as  at  the  former  place.  He  met 
there  the  illusitrous  John  Hancock,  who  had  just  retired  from 
the  presidency  of  Congress,  and  received  Washington's  reply  to 
his  letter,  by  which  he  was  informed  that  he  must  repair,  with- 
out delay,  to  York,  Pennsylvania,  where  Congress  was  then 
sitting,  since  it  belonged  exclusively  to  that  body  to  enter 
into  negotiations  with  him.  At  the  same  time  Hancock  com- 
municated  to  Steuben  an  order  of  Congress,  that  every  prep- 
aration should  be  made  to  make  him  and  his  suite  comfortable 
on  their  journey  to  York,  and  Mr.  Hancock  himself  with  great 
care  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements.  Carriages,  sleighs, 
and  saddle  horses  were  provided,  five  negroes  were  assigned 
to  them  as  grooms  and  drivers,  and  an  agent  to  prepare  quar- 
ters and  procure  provisions. 

Washington's  answer,  which  was  delayed  in  consequence 
of  the  difficulty  of  communication  and  the  arrangement  of 
his  equipage,  detained  Steuben  about  five  weeks  in  Boston. 
Hancock  introduced  him  to  Samuel  and  John  Adams,  and  the 
other  worthies  of  the  Revolution.  Duponceau,  who  accom- 
panied Steuben  everywhere,  as  he  could  not  speak  English, 
gives  in  his  manuscript  letters  some  very  amusing  anecdotes, 
which  characterize  as  well  the  time  as  its  prominent  persons, 
and  one  of  which,  therefore,  may  find  a  place  here.  "  Once," 
says  he,  "at  a  dinner  given  by  Governor  Hancock  to  General 
Steuben,  I  sat  next  to  Samuel  Adams,  and  happened  by  mis- 

5 


08  LIFB    OF    6TBUBBN, 

take  to  call  him  Mr.  John  Adams.  '  Sir,'  said  he,  looking 
sternly  at  me,  l  I  would  have  you  know  that  there  is  a  great 
difference  between  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  (striking  his  breast  and 
laying  a  strong  emphasis  on  the  word  Samuel),  and  Mr.  John 
Adams.'  This  remark,"  continues  Duponceau,  "let  me  into 
the  little  jealousies  that  then  existed  between  some  of  the 
great  men  of  the  day,  and  I  Avas  afterward  on  my  guard  against 
addressing  people  by  their  Christian  names." 

Steuben,  however,  left  Boston  on  the  14th  of  January,  1778. 
The  journey  to  York  is  described  in  the  following  entertaining 
narrative,  by  Duponceau,  the  young  Frenchman. 

u  Our  party,"  says  he,  "  consisted  of  Baron  Steuben  and  his 
servant,  Carl  Yogel,  a  young  lad  whom  he  had  brought  from 
Germany,  Mr.  De  Francy,  an  agent  of  Beaumarchais,  and  my- 
self. We  traveled  on  horseback.  Notwithstanding  the  recent 
capture  of  General  Burgoyne,  the  situation  of  the  United 
States  at  that  time  was  extremely  critical.  The  enemy  was 
in  possession  of  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia, 
with  well-organized  and  disciplined  troops,  far  superior  in  num- 
ber to  our  own.  Our  army  (if  army  it  might  be  called)  were 
encamped  at  Yalley  Forge,  in  the  depth  of  a  severe  winter, 
without  provisions,  without  clothes,  without  regular  discipline, 
destitute,  in  short,  of  every  thing  but  courage  and  patriotism  ; 
and  what  was  worse  than  all,  disaffection  was  spreading  through 
the  land.  In  this  dismal  state  of  things  the  baron  was  advised 
to  keep  as  far  from  the  coast  as  possible,  lest  he  should  be  sur- 
prised by  parties  of  the  enemy  or  by  the  Tories,  who  made 
frequent  incursions  into  the  country  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  We,  therefore,  shaped  our  course  westward, 
and  crossing  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  and  Pennsylvania,  we  employed  about  three  weeks  in 
a  journey  of  four  hundred  and  ten  miles  in  all,  which  at  pres- 
ent (1836)  would  hardly  require  as  many  days." 

They  stopped,  on  their  way,  on  Sunday  the  18th  of  Janu- 
ary, at  Springfield,  on  the  20th  at  Hartford,  on  the  28th   at 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  99 

Fishkill,  on  Thursday,  the  30th,  at  Bethlehem,  on  the  2d  of 
February  at  Reading,  on  the  4th  at  Manheiin,  and  arrived  on 
Thursday,  the  5th,  at  York. 

"In  the  course  of  that  journey,"  remarks  Duponceau,  "we 
met  with  few  adventures.  I  shall  relate  one  or  two  to  show 
the  spirit  of  the  times. 

"We  had  been  cautioned  against  putting  up  at  a  certain 
tavern  in  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  not  far  from  the 
frontier  of  Connecticut.  We  were  told  that  the  landlord  was 
a  bitter  Tory,  and  that  he  would  refuse  to  receive  us,  or,  at 
least,  treat  us  very  ill.  We  determined  to  avoid  that  place  if  it 
were  possible.  Unfortunately,  when  we  were  at  some  distance 
from  it,  we  were  surprised  by  a  violent  snow  storm ;  it  was 
in  the  evening,  and  we  were  compelled  to  take  shelter  in  the 
very  house  we  wished  to  avoid.  We  had  not  been  misin- 
formed. The  landlord  at  once  said  that  he  could  not  accommo- 
date us.  He  had  no  beds,  no  bread,  no  meat,  no  drink,  no 
milk,  no  eggs ;  all  that  he  could  offer  us  was  the  bare  walls. 
In  vain  we  remonstrated  and  prayed,  he  remained  inflexible. 
At  last  Baron  Steuben  grew  impatient  and  flew  into  a  violent 
passion.  After  exhausting  all  his  store  of  German  oaths,  he 
called  in  that  language  to  his  servant  to  bring  his  pistols,  which 
he  did.  Then  the  baron,  presenting  the  deadly  weapons  at  the 
frightened  landlord,  repeated  the  questions  that  he  had  in  vain 
asked  before  :  4  Have  you  any  bread,  meat,  drink,  beds,  etc.  ?' 
The  answers  were  now  such  as  we  desired ;  we  were  accom- 
modated with  good  beds  and  a  good  supper,  and  our  horses 
were  properly  taken  care  of.  In  the  morning  after  our  break- 
fast, we  politely  took  leave  of  our  host,  who,  though  a  Tory, 
did  not  refuse  the  continental  money  in  which  we  liberally 
paid  him. 

"  Another  anecdote  which  I  now  recollect,  is  strictly  char- 
acteristic of  the  patriarchal  manner  of  those  times.  As  we 
passed  through  the  State  of  Connecticut,  we  put  up  one  night 
at  a  house  where,  for  some  reason  that  I  do  not  remember,  we 


100  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

were  all  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  floor  in  the  same  room  with 
the  family,  some  on  feather  beds,  and  some  on  blankets  ;  men, 
women  and  children,  had  all  to  bundle  together,  as  it  was 
called.  The  bedding  was  spread  all  around  the  room,  and 
every  one  took  his  place  and  went  very  composedly  to  sleep. 
The  utmost  decency  was  observed  though  no  fuss  was  made 
about  it.  There  was  so  much  innocence  and  simplicity  in  the 
manner  in  which  these  arrangements  were  prepared  and  made, 
that  the  idea  of  indelicacy  did  not  even  occur  to  us,  and  if  in 
the  morning  we  indulged  in  a  smile  at  manners  to  which  we 
were  so  little  accustomed,  nothing  was  said  or  thought  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  morality  of  the  good  people  who  had  enter- 
tained us  in  the  best  manner  that  they  were  able. 

"A  great  number  of  inns,  in  towns  and  country,  bore  the 
sign  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  was  still  very  popular,  par- 
ticularly among  the  Germans.  I  remember  that  at  Manheim 
the  baron,  with  a  significant  look,  pointed  out  to  me,  at  the 
tavern  where  we  dined,  a  paltry  engraving  hung  up  on  the 
Mall  on  which  was  represented  a  Prussian  knocking  down  a 
Frenchman  in  great  style.  Underneath  was  the  following  ap- 
propriate motto : 

"  '  Ein  Franzmann  zum  Preuszcn  wio  eine  Miicke.' 

"  'A  Frenchman  to  a  Prussian  is  no  more  than  a  musquito.' 

"  The  good  baron  appeared  to  enjoy  that  picture  exceed- 
ingly, and  so  no  doubt  did  the  German  landlord  to  whom  it 
belonged." 

Steuben  staid  at  York  until  the  19th  of  February,  1778. 
"The  Congress  of  the  United  States,"  continues  Duponceau, 
"were  not  at  that  time  the  illustrious  body  whose  eloquence 
and  wisdom,  whose  stern  virtues  and  unflinching  patriotism 

had  astonished  the  world.      Their  number  was  reduced  to 

• 

about  one  half  of  what  it  was  when  independence  was  de- 
clared ;  all  but  a  few  of  the  men  of  superior  minds  had  <lisap- 


pei 


ared  from  it.     Their  measures  were  feeble  and  vacillating 


») 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  101 

and  their  party  feuds  seemed  to  forebode  some  impending  ca- 
lamity. The  enemy  were  in  possession  of  our  capital  city  ; 
the  army  we  had  to  oppose  to  them  were  hungry,  naked  and 
destitute  of  every  thing.  No  foreign  government  had  yet 
acknowledged  our  independence — every  thing  around  us  was 
dark  and  gloomy.  The  only  ray  of  light  which  appeared  amidst 
the  darkness  was  the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  which  cheered  the 
spirits  of  those  who  might  otherwise  have  despaired  of  the 
commonwealth.  But  that  brilliant  victory  had  nearly  pro- 
duced most  fatal  consequences.  General  Gates  became  the 
hero  of  the  day.  Saratoga  was  then  what  New  Orleans  has 
been  since — the  watchword  of  the  discontented.  A  party 
was  formed  even  in  Congress  to  raise  the  conqueror  of  Bur- 
goyne to  the  supreme  command  of  our  armies.  But  the  great 
figure  of  Washington  stood  calm  and  serene  at  his  camp  at 
Valley  Forge,  and  struck  the  conspirators  with  awe.  With 
the  exception  of  a  few  factious  chiefs,  he  was  idolized  by  the 
army  and  by  the  nation  at  large.  The  plot  was  discovered, 
and  the  plan  frustrated  without  a  struggle.  Without  any 
eifort  or  management  on  his  part,  and  by  the  mere  force  of 
his  character,  Washington  stood  firm  and  undaunted  in  the 
midst  of  his  enemies,  and  I  might  almost  say,  looked  them  into 
silence. 

"  Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  wo  arrived  at  York. 
Parties  were  then  at  their  height ;  but  as  Congress  sat  with 
closed  doors,  the  country  at  large  was  not  agitated  as  it 
would  otherwise  have  been.  There  were  not  wanting  out  of 
doors  disaffected  persons,  who  railed  at  King  "  Cong"  and 
the  bunch  of  "  kings"  (such  was  the  slang  of  the  day  among 
the  Tories),  but  the  great  mass  of  the  people  was  still  in  favor 
of  the  Revolution,  and  the  press  did  not  dare  to  utter  a  senti- 
ment inimical  to  it. 

"The  fame  of  Baron  Steuben  had  preceded  him  to  York. 
He  was  welcomed  and  courted  by  all,  and  I  well  remember 
that  General  Gates  in  particular  paid  him  the  most  assiduous 


104  H  F  E      O  F      8  T  E  U  B  E  N  . 

t crested  tender  lie  has  been  pleased  to  make  of  his  military 
talents,  and  inform  him  that  Congress  cheerfully  accept  of  his 
services  as  a  volunteer  in  the  army  of  these  States,  and  wish 
him  to  repair  to  General  Washington's  quarters  as  soon  as 
convenient." 

"  Congress  received  Steuben  with  every  mark  of  distinc- 
tion," says  Richard  Peters,  in  a  letter  dated  Belmont,  October 
30,  1785,  "and  paid  more  particular  attention  to  him  than  I 
had  known  given  to  any  foreigner.  Much  pleasure  was  ex- 
pressed at  the  arrival  of  a  person  of  his  military  knowledge 
and  experience,  at  a  time  when  the  want  of  discipline  in  our 
army,  and  the  economy  it  produced,  were  severely  felt  and  re- 
gretted."* 

Steuben  set  out  for  Valley  Forge  on  the  19th  of  February, 
1778,  and  arrived  there  on  the  23d.  "  On  our  journey,"  says 
Duponceau,  "  we  passed  through  Lancaster,  then  considered  the 
largest  inland  town  in  the  United  States.  Having  arrived 
there  early  in  the  afternoon,  the  baron  was  waited  upon  by 
Colonel  Gibson  and  other  gentlemen,  who  invited  him  and  his 
family  to  a  subscription  ball  to  take  place  that  evening,  in 
honor  of  his  arrival.  The  baron  accepted,  and  we  accord- 
ingly went.  There  we  saw  assembled  all  the  fashion  and 
beauty  of  Lancaster  and  its  vicinity.  The  baron  was  de- 
lighted to  converse  with  the  German  girls  in  his  native  tongue. 
There  was  a  handsome  supper,  and  the  company  did  not  sep- 
arate until  two  o'clock  the  next  morning." 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  William  North,  who  after- 
wards was  his  aid-de-camp  and  adopted  son,  saw  him  for  the 
first  time.  "  His  reputation  had  preceded  him,"  says  North, 
"  and  those  who  yet  remember  his  graceful  entry  and  manner 
in  a  ball-room,  the  novel  splendor  of  his  star  and  its  accompa- 
nying ornaments,  can  easily  conceive  the  feelings  of  his  coun- 
trymen and  of  their  assembled  wives  and  daughters ;  they  might 

*  American  State  Papers,  vol.  "Claims."     Washington,  1834,  p.  13. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  105 

indeed,  with  honest  feeling,  have  thanked  God  that  they  had 
no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  him." 

u  Upon  my  arrival  in  camp,"  writes  Steuben,  "  I  was  again 
the  object  of  more  honors  than  I  was  entitled  to.  General 
Washington  came  several  miles  to  meet  me  on  the  road,  and 
accompanied  me  to  my  quarters,  where  I  found  an  officer  with 
twenty-five  men  as  a  guard  of  honor.  When  I  declined  this, 
saying  that  I  wished  to  be  considered  merely  as  a  volunteer, 
the  General  answered  me  in  the  politest  words,  that  the 
wrhole  army  would  be  gratified  to  stand  sentinel  for  such  vol- 
unteers. He  introduced  me  to  Major  General  Lord  Stirling 
and  several  other  generals.  On  the  same  day  my  name  was 
given  as  watchword.  The  following  day  the  army  was 
mustered,  and  General  Washington  accompanied  me  to  re- 
view it.  To  be  brief,  if  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  or 
the  greatest  field  marshal  of  Europe,  had  been  in  my  place,  he 
could  not  have  been  received  with  greater  marks  of  honor 
than  I  was." 

Washington  himself  informed  Congress,  on  the  27th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1778,  of  Steuben's  arrival,  in  the  following  words:* 

"  Baron  Steuben  has  arrived  at  camp.  He  appears  to  be 
much  of  a  gentleman,  and  as  far  as  I  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  judging,  a  man  of  military  knowledge,  and  acquainted  with 
the  world." 

The  encampment  at  Valley  Forge  lasted  till  the  18th  of 
June,  1778,  and  the  period  of  its  existence  marks  one  of  the 
most  trying  periods  of  the  revolutionary  war.  All  the  abuses 
and  defects  that  had  been  dominant  in  the  American  army, 
reached  their  culmination  during  this  time,  and  showed  the 
pressing  need  of  radical  reforms.  In  consequence  of  the  bad 
management  in  the  commissary  general's  office,  a  famine  broke 
out  in  camp,  although  the  country  was  abounding  with  provis- 
ions.    "  Unless,"  writes  Washington  to  Congress,  "  some  great 

*  "Washington's  Writings,  by  Sparks.     "Vol.  v.,  p .  244. 


10G  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

and  capital  change  suddenly  takes  place,  the  army  must  in- 
evitably be  reduced  to  one  or  other  of  these  three  things — to 
starve,  dissolve,  or  disperse  in  order  to  obtain  subsistence."  On 
the  other  hand,  the  quarter-master's  department  was  of  as  little 
use,  as  it  had  been  long  without  a  head,  and  was  dependent, 
not  on  the  commander-in-chief,  but  on  Congress.  On  the  1st 
day  of  February,  1778,  there  were  three  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  men  in  camp  unfit  for  duty  for  want  of 
clothing.  The  natural  consequences  of  these  evils  were  muti- 
nies, frequent  desertions,  and  the  prevalence  of  fever  and  sick- 
ness, which  swept  hundreds  of  soldiers  away.  Of  the  original 
force  of  about  seventeen  thousand  men,  only  five  thousand  and 
twelve  were  at  this  time  (February,  1778)  fit  for  duty. 

Congress  at  last  gave  way  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  appointed  a  committee  to  reside  in  camp 
during  the  winter,  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  state 
of  the  army,  and  of  proposing  such  reforms  as  seemed  to  it 
necessary.  Upon  its  arrival,  Washington  laid  a  memorial  be- 
fore it  concerning  the  state  of  the  army,  the  remedies  for  the 
abuses  in  its  departments,  and  the  steps  to  be  taken  for  its  fu- 
ture safety.  Little  or  nothing,  however,  was  done  in  answer 
to  Washington's  proposals.  Congress  seemed  only  desirous 
of  showing  its  good  will ;  the  reforms  proposed  were  but  par- 
tially carried  out,  after  their  necessity  had  been  demonstrated 
for  months,  and  even  years.  Nothing,  therefore,  Avas  consum- 
mated in  the  commissary's  and  quarter-master  general's  de- 
partment, and  while  an  inspector  general  was  appointed,  it 
was  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  Conway's  ambition.  The 
regulation  of  this  important  office  was,  therefore,  postponed 
to  better  times ;  the  officers  were  not  provided  for,  and  the 
comfort  and  exigencies  of  the  privates  were  neglected. 

At  this  critical  period  of  the  war  it  was  not  Congress  that 
kept  the  army  together  ;  it  was  not  the  people  at  large  that 
supported  and  sustained  their  soldiers;  it  was  not  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  masses  that  saved  the  country  ;  other  and  more 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  107 

powerful  elements  were  working  toward  the  establishment  of 
American  independence. 

To  the  most  prominent  only  of  these  elements  we  mean  to 
refer  at  this  time. 

The  lack  of  proportion  between  the  basis  of  operations  and 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  British  forces  is  the  character- 
istic type  of  the  whole  war,  and  in  this  essential  difference 
may  be  found  the  chief  reason  for  the  final  victory  of  the 
Americans  over  the  English.  Ten  thousand  square  miles  of  an 
insurgent  country  can  no  more  be  occupied,  watched  over  and 
kept  by  half  a  dozen  weak  divisions,  than  a  few  thousand  regular 
troops  can  maintain  themselves  as  masters  of  a  large  city  like 
Paris  or  Berlin  against  a  sudden  revolutionary  outbreak,  how- 
ever badly  the  rebels  may  be  equipped  and  disciplined.  If  the 
English  from  the  beginning  had  duly  appreciated  their  situa- 
tion, they  would  have  confined  themselves  to  the  occupation  ot 
strong  places,  single  posts  and  fortified  ports.  Whenever  they 
made  large  expeditions  into  and  through  the  country,  or  when- 
ever they  tried  to  conquer  whole  provinces,  they  always  failed, 
as  might  have  been  anticipated.  It  was  the  war  of  Cyrus  against 
the  Scythians,  of  the  Romans  against  the  Germans.  The  sud- 
den retreat  of  these  undisciplined  masses  into  the  barren  and 
distant  interior,  was  their  most  terrible  weapon,  both  of  of- 
fense and  defense.  Moreover,  the  Americans  were  separated 
from  their  aggressor  by  a  great  ocean,  and  had  no  neighbor 
able  to  harm  them  seriously. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  American  Revolution,  which  suffered 
from  all  the  defects  of  the  European  revolutions,  finally  came 
out  triumphant.  On  account  of  these  reasons  it  had  just  time 
enough  to  organize  itself.  In  all  instances  when  a  people  has 
risen  against  its  oppressors,  it  has  to  oppose  loose,  undisciplined, 
unorganized  masses  to  a  ruling  power,  wdiich  has  at  its  dis- 
posal the  chief  support  of  an  effective  resistance,  a  disciplined 
and  obedient  army. 

It  is,  therefore,  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution  that  the, 


108  LIFE     OF     HTTU'IJEX. 

greatest  difficulties  of  the  uprising  masses  exist.  The  throw- 
ing off  the  yoke  is  comparatively  an  easy  affair,  but  the  strug- 
gle begins  with  the  first  battle.  Even  where  insurgents  have 
an  army  from  the  outset,  it  is  difficult  to  keep  it  together  and 
to  employ  it,  because  every  revolution  supposes  a  certain  dis- 
solution of  the  established  order  of  things,  which  reacts  with 
the  most  pernicious  effect  upon  its  creators.  A  revolution  is 
doomed  when  it  has  not  time  and  ground  enough  to  collect 
itself  and  settle.  It  will  at  once  be  suppressed  by  the  united 
military  movements  of  its  organized  enemies. 

Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution,  the 
French  troops  almost  everywhere  suffered  defeat.  Badly 
armed,  badly  provided  for,  badly  drilled,  all  their  personal 
heroism  and  the  terror  of  the  Convention  were  not  sufficient 
to  compensate  for  these  defects.  The  Hungarian  honveds  (mi- 
litia) were  driven  into  a  precipitate  flight  at  Schwechat,  and 
the  whole  army  forced  back  into  the  interior  of  Hungary, 
until,  provided  from  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  supplied 
with  new  arms  and  now  ammunition,  it  could  take  its  ground 
again  and  advance  victoriously. 

The  people  of  these  countries  were  as  self-sacrificing,  if  not 
more  so,  than  the  Americans.  Nevertheless,  the  latter  alone, 
of  all  modern  nations,  succeeded  in  their  struggle.  If  the  cir- 
cumstances we  have  mentioned  were  the  natural  basis  of  their 
final  triumph,  they  had,  on  the  other  hand,  the  great  good  luck 
to  have  a  general  at  their  head  who,  by  his  indefatigable  exer- 
tions and  his  noble  conduct  was  immeasurably  the  superior  of 
all  the  military  leaders,  and  who  knew  how  to  choose  the  proper 
persons  for  the  proper  places.  Thus,  for  instance,  he  at  once 
perceived  Steuben's  talent  for  organization. 

The  independence  of  the  United  States  would  not  have 
been  realized  so  speedily,  or  with  such  brilliant  effect,  if  the 
chief  part  of  its  achievement  had  not  been  conferred  upon  Wash- 
ington. He  appears  a  greater  commander  in  his  letters  to 
Congress  than  in  his  military  operations,  in  which,  weak  as  he 


I.  I  F  E     O  P     S  T  E  U  15  EN.  109 

was  in  his  means,  he  had  to  combat  with  enormous  difficulties. 
Why  did  he  not  incessantly  alarm  the  English  camp  ;  why  did 
he  not  fly  to  inaccessible  posts  when  the  enemy  was  preparing 
to  attack  him ;  why  did  he  not  suddenly  outflank  the  British  ; 
why  did  he  not  appear  in  their  rear,  cut  off  their  provisions, 
and  intercept  their  supplies  ;  why  did  he  not  use  his  entire 
force  with  more  energy  and  activity  ? 

The  answer  to  all  these  questions  is  easily  given  and  under- 
stood when  it  is  seen  that  his  soldiers  were  barefooted,  and 
would  almost  all  have  run  away  if  Washington  had  made 
fatiguing  marches  ;  that  the  government  for  which  they  fought 
did  not  provide  them  with  the  necessary  provisions  and  cloth- 
ing ;  that  often  their  own  countrymen  refused  to  them  a  mere 
shelter  against  cold  and  storm ;  that  there  existed  no  hospitals 
to  receive  the  wounded,  who  thus  saw  certain  death  staring 
them  in  the  face  ;  and  were  thus  discouraged  from  engaging 
in  an  enterprise  in  which  they  had  to  suffer  much — without 
deriving  any  corresponding  profit;  that  these  soldiers  only 
wanted  to  go  over  to  the  English  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to 
their  miseries ;  that  the  troops  were  enlisted  for  too  short  a 
time  to  be  entirely  trustworthy  ;  that  in  consequence  of  all  these 
defects  a  rigid  discipline  could  not  be  enforced,  and  that, 
therefore,  General  Washington  was  bound  to  save  as  much 
fatigue  as  possible  to  his  troops,  which  were  almost  over- 
whelmed with  hardships  and  privations,  in  order  to  keep  at 
least  as  many  of  them  together  as  would  lead  the  enemy  to 
suppose  that  a  real  and  effective  army  existed.  It  is,  there-, 
fore,  apparent  that  Washington's  inactivity  was  the  result  of 
the  unfavorable  circumstances  in  which  he  found  himself;  but 
whenever  it  was  prudent  he  took  the  offensive,  and  displayed 
great  vigor,  as  in  the  affairs  of  Trenton,  Princeton,  and  Ger- 
mantown.  This  self-control  and  Fabian-like  prudence  is  one 
of  the  most  striking  traits  of  Washington's  character.  He 
possessed  all  the  qualities  necessary  for  command.  A  hun- 
dred other  commanders  put  in  the  same  position,  and   sur- 


110  I,  T  FK      O  F      BTIU  HE  NT  . 

rounded  by  tbe  same  difficulties,  would  have  lost  patience  and 
courage  ;  but  he  was  a  master,  not  in  guiding  the  general  feel- 
ing of  the  people,  but  to  discern,  follow  and  make  tbe  best  of 
them.  On  account  of  this  talent,  Washington  is  justly  the 
most  popular  hero  of  the  American  people.  Pie  is  flesh  of 
their  flesh  and  blood  of  their  blood,  but  of  a  higher  order. 

All  that  has  been  said  and  written  about  Washington  by  his 
admirers,  falls  short,  in  our  opinion,  of  a  perfect  appreciation 
of  the  man.  It  is  certainly  a  high  position  to  occupy  the  first 
place  among  men  like  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Greene,  Hamilton, 
Jay,  and  several  others ;  it  is  an  historical  glory — and  can 
there  be  any  greater? — to  be  the  soul  and  the  expression  of  a 
great  historical  event ;  it  is  an  enviable  destiny  enjoyed  by 
few,  to  be  the  first  in  war,  the  first  in  peace,  the  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,  and  to  shine  to  succeeding  genera- 
tions for  centuries  as  the  man  of  his  country.  Washington  is 
more  than  all  this — he  is  not  only  the  hero  of  his  people  and 
of  the  new  world,  he  is  at  the  same  time  the  hero  of  the  whole 
world,  of  the  entire  Teutonic  race,  the  classic  expression  of 
its  will  and  power,  of  its  perseverance  and  energy,  of  its 
contentedness  and  grandeur,  of  its  disinterestedness  and  self- 
denial. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  compare  Washington  with  a  great 
conqueror,  like  Napoleon,  or  any  other  military  commander 
of  modern  times,  because  no  point  of  comparison  really  ex- 
ists between  them.  It  is  a  contradiction  in  itself  to  place 
him  on  the  same  level  with  the  monarchical  statesmen  and 
soldiers  of  the  last  century,  as  his  views,  motives  and  ob- 
jects had  nothing  in  common  with  theirs.  To  appreciate 
the  greatness  of  a  man  like  Washington,  according  to  the 
number  of  his  victories,  the  extent  of  his  conquests,  and  the 
apparent  brilliancy  of  his  exploits,  is  a  proof  how  deeply, 
though  unconsciously,  the  Latin  dogma  of  authority  and  cen- 
tralization has  penetrated  the  life  and  notions  of  modern 
nations.      Washington   was   great   just  because  he   did    not 


LIFE      OF      STE  U  F,  B  N  .  11  1 

possess  the  qualities  which  constitute  the  greatness  of  other 
historical  characters.  His  true  position  in  history  is  on  the 
threshold  of  the  Present  and  the  close  of  the  era  of  the 
Reformation  That  grand  thesis  of  ninety-five  paragraphs, 
which,  on  the  31st  day  of  October,  1517,  Luther  nailed  on  the 
chapel-door  of  Wittenberg,  finally  found,  after  more  than  two 
centuries  and  a  balt\  its  synthesis  when,  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  1776,  at  the  State  House  of  Philadelphia,  the  young, 
rising  republic  of  the  West  made  its  declaration  of  independ- 
ence, and  established  liberty  of  conscience  in  politics,  of  which 
the  chosen  champion  was  Washington.  Thus  Wittenberg  and 
Philadelphia,  Luther  and  Washington,  are  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  era  of  the  Reformation. 

Open  the  book  of  modern  history  and  you  will  find  many 
heroes  in  the  life  of  the  Teutonic  race  who  are  not  only  akin 
to  Washington,  but  complete  his  character,  and  who,  either 
previous  to  his  time  or  cotemporaneously  with  him,  assisted  in 
forcing  the  world  into  the  same  phase  of  development.  In  the 
first  place,  we  meet  Luther,  the  great  German  reformer,  who 
overthrew  the  despotism  of  Rome  ;  there,  also,  we  are  re- 
minded of  the  taciturn  and  majestic  forms  of  the  two  Wil- 
liams of  Orange,  who,  in  giving  the  death-blow  to  the  gloomy 
rule  of  Spain,  won  undying  fame  for  themselves.  There,  also, 
we  meet  the  great  dramatist,  William  Shakespeare,  who  illus- 
trated poetically  the  new  Protestant  ideas ;  there,  also,  we 
meet  the  valiant  King  of  Sweden,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  who 
secured  religious  liberty  on  the  battle  fields  of  Germany  ;  there 
the  sturdy  Lord  Protector,  Oliver  Cromwell,  gives  the  first 
blow  to  the  crumbling  edifice  of  the  effete  social  system  of 
England,  by  bringing  the  middle  classes  into  political  exist- 
ence, and  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  her  present  greatness; 
there,  that  sober  Scotchman,  Adam  Smith,  the  Luther  of  po- 
litical economy,  breaks  down  the  old  feudal  system,  and  ini- 
tiates a  new  era  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  world ;  there, 
finally,  Emanuel  Kant,  by  his  "  categoric  imperative,"  arouses 


112  H  9  K     OF      S  T  EUREN. 

the  world  from  mental  slumber  to  intellectual  activity,  and 
closes,  in  this  point  of  view,  the  age  of  the  Reformation,  as 
Washington  did  in  a  political  sense.  All  these  men,  although  in 
other  spheres,  his  predecessors  and  cotemporaries,  are  sprung 
from  the  same  race,  and  elevated  by  the  ame  idea — the 
autonomy  of  the  individual,  which  they  made  to  prevail  by 
prudence,  moderation  and  concentration  of  their  power  on  this 
single  point. 

Is  there  any  more  Teutonic  nature  than  that  of  Washing- 
ton, or  any  character  that  has  exercised  more  perfect  self-dis- 
cipline, or  anybody  who,  by  each  act  of  his  life,  elevated  and 
purified  himself  to  a  higher  degree  ;  who  performed  his  task 
with  greater  self-satisfaction,  or  regarded  the  fulfillment  of  his 
duty  as  a  matter  of  course ;  or  who  adhered  more  rigidly  to 
self-imposed  limits  ;  or  who,  after  many  and  great  personal 
sacrifices,  having  reached  the  goal  of  his  noble  ambition,  re- 
tired into  private  life  with  more  modesty  and  grace  ? 

Thus  we  think  Washington  may  be  considered  one  of  the 
most  notable  and  important  exemplars  of  Teutonic  genius, 
which  is  not  confined  to  any  particular  land,  which  to-day  is 
exploring  the  deserts  of  Africa,  and  to-morrow  lays  the  tele- 
graphic cable  between  Europe  and  America,  and  which  carries 
civilization  into  the  wilderness,  not  with  sound  of  trumpet 
and  drum,  but  w7ith  the  ax  and  the  plow  to  last  forever. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Sad  Condition  of  the  Continental  Army.— Steuben's  Description  of  the  State  of 
Things  in  Valley  Forge.— Hard  Task  for  a  Reformer.— TllS  English  System 
prevalent. —Enormous  Expenses.— Percentage  paid  to  the  Commissioners; 
their  Peculation.— Steuben  proposes  the  Contract  System,  which,  however, 
is  not  accepted. — condition  of  the  troops.— elilj  and  flow  of  men.—  incom- 
PLETENESS of  the  Companies,  Regiments,  and  Brigades.— A  Regiment  consisting 
of  thirty  Men,  and  a  Company  of  one  Corporal.— Duty  of  the  Muster  Mas- 
ter, and  the  Way  in  which  it  was  performed.— Incorrectness  of  such  Returns. 
—The  Army  a  Nursery  for  Servants.— More  Commissaries  and  Quarter- 
masters   THAN    IN    ALL   THE   ARMIES   OF   EUROPE   TOGETHER.—  No   ACCOUNTS   KEPT.— 

Five  to  Eight  Thousand  Muskets  lost  in  one  Campaign.— The  Loss  of  the 
Bayonets  still  greater.— Steuhen's  Arrangements  saved  the  United  States 
at  least  $100,000  a  Year.— The  Arms  in  a  horrible  Condition.— The  Men  al- 
most liteeally~Naked.— Officers  at  a  great  Parade  in  a  Dressing-Gown. — 
No  Discipline,  no  regular  Formation.— Each  Colonel  has  a  System  of  his 
own.— No  Polls  kept  of  the  Companies.— Great  A  ruses  in  granting  Fur- 
loughs.—Officers  had  ho  Idea  of  their  Duties.— Internal  Administration  of 
a  Regiment  unknown.— Infinity  of  Guards.— Duponceau's  Sketch.— Army  in 
Want  of  Provisions,  Clothes.  Fodder,  and  Every  thing.— Life  at  Head- 
quarters;   Mrs.   Washington  and    Mrs.  Greene.— Dinner  given  by  Steuben, 

WHERE     TORN      CLOTHES    WERE    AN    INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITE.— SALAMANDERS    AND 

Sansculottes.— Office  of  Inspector  General.— Resolutions  of  Congress  of 
December  13,  1777.— Conway.— "  Imperium  in  Lmperio.'*— Steuben  temporary  In- 
spector.—Directs  his  Attention  to  the  Organization  and  Discipline  of  the 
Army.— Where  to  commence,  the  Question.— Difficulty  of  finding  an  Ar- 
rangement, so  as  not  to  disgust  the  Officers  and  Men,  and  in  Conformity  with 
the  Genius  of  the  People.— Greene,  Laurens,  and  Hamilton  assist  him. — 
Steuben's  Proposition  for  a  temporary  Inspectorship  approved  by  Washing- 
ton,— Steuben's  Sub-Inspectors.— Model  Company  formed  and  drilled  by 
Steuben  himself. — Reasons  why  he  departed  from  the  general  European 
Rule  in  drilling  and  exercising  the  Troops.— Colonels  and  Officers  begin 
to  drill  their  Men.— Steuben  gains  Confidence  and  extends  his  Operations 

ON  A  LARGER  SCALE.— IIlS  INSPECTORS  TEACH  THE  DIFFERENT  CORPS.— FlEURY 
DESCRIBES  THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  HIS  DUTIES  IN  WILMINGTON.— A.  SCAMMEL  AC- 
KNOWLEDGES THE  good  Effect  of  Steuben's  indefatigable  Efforts.— William 
North's  Narrative  of  the  Progress  of  the  Troops  in  Consequence  of  Steu- 
ben's System  of  Drill. — Benjamin  Walker  first  introduced. — Complete  Suc- 
cess of  Steuben. 

A  LTHOXJGII  the  sad  condition  of  the  Continental  army 
■f*  during  that  horrible  winter  in  Valley  Forge  is  sufficient- 
ly known,  it  will  be  interesting  to  give  here  the  testimony  of 
an  eye  witness,  who  shared  the  privations  of  the  troops,  and 


114  LIFE      OF      STEUBEX. 

used  his  best  exertions  to  mitigate  the  hardships  to  which  they 
were  exposed. 

"  The  situation  of  affairs  in  general,"  writes  Steuben,  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival  in  camp,*  "  and  of  our  own  army  at  Valley 
Forge  in  particular,  is  too  well  known  to  need  a  description. 
My  determination  must  have  been  very  firm  that  I  did  not 
abandon  my  design  when  I  saw  the  troops.  Matters  had  to 
be  remedied,  but  where  to  commence  was  the  great  difficulty. 
In  the  first  place,  I  informed  myself  relative  to  the  military 
administration.  I  found  that  the  different  branches  were 
divided  into  departments.  There  were  those  of  the  quarter- 
master general,  war  commissary,  provisions  commissary,  com- 
missary of  the  treasury,  or  paymaster  of  forage,  etc.,  etc. 
But  they  were  all  bad  copies  of  a  bad  original.  That  is  to 
say,  they  had  imitated  the  English  administration,  which  is 
certainly  the  most  imperfect  in  Europe. 

"  The  general  asked  me  to  give  him  some  statements  con- 
cerning the  arrangements  of  the  departments,  and  their  va- 
rious branches  in  the  European  armies.  I  gave  them  to  him, 
and,  detailing  therein  the  duties  of  each  department  and  of  its 
different  branches,  dilated  upon  the  functions  of  the  quarter- 
masters (marechaux  generaux  de  logis)  in  particular,  in  which 
branch  I  had  served  myself  for  a  long  time  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  But  the  English  system,  bad  as  it  is,  had  al- 
ready taken  root.  Each  company  and  quarter-master  had  a 
commission  of  so  much  per  cent,  on  all  the  money  he  expend- 
ed. It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  expense  was  not  spared — 
that  wants  were  discovered  where  there  were  none ;  and  it 
was  also  natural  that  the  dearest  articles  were  those  that  suit- 
ed the  commissioners  best.  Hence  the  depreciation  of  our 
currency — hence  the  expense  of  so  many  millions 

"  I  pointed  out  to  General  Washington  and  several  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  the  advantages  of  the  contract  system.  I 
even  drew  up  a  memorandum  on  the  subject,  which  Colonel 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi.,  and  Sprague. 


L  T  F  1     O  F     8  T  E  V  B  K  N  .  115 

Laurens  translated  into  English,  showing  the  way  in  which 
things  were  contracted  for  in  the  Prussian  and  French  armies. 
But  whether  it  was  that  they  thought  such  a  system  impracti- 
cable in  this  country,  or  whether  they  were  unable  to  check 
the  torrent  of  expense,  things  remained  as  they  were. 

"  I  directed  my  attention  to  the  condition  of  the  troops, 
and  I  found  an  ample  field,  where  disorder  and  confusion  were 
supreme.  As  this  became  my  principal  object,  I  must  enter 
into  some  particular  details. 

"  The  effective  strength  of  the  army  was  divided  into  di- 
visions, commanded  by  major  generals ;  into  brigades,  com. 
inanded  by  brigadier  generals  ;  and  into  regiments,  command- 
ed by  colonels.  The  number  of  men  in  a  regiment  was  fixed 
by  Congress,  as  well  as  in  a  company — so  many  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery.  But  the  eternal  ebb  and  flow  of  men 
engaged  for  three,  six,  and  nine  months,  who  went  and  came 
every  day,  rendered  it  impossible  to  have  either  a  regiment  or 
a  company  complete ;  and  the  words  company,  regiment,  bri- 
gade, and  division,  were  so  vague  that  they  did  not  convey 
any  idea  upon  which  to  form  a  calculation,  either  of  a  particu- 
lar corps  or  of  the  array  in  general.  They  w^ere  so  unequal  in 
their  number,  that  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  execute 
any  maneuvers.  Sometimes  a  regiment  was  stronger  than  a 
brigade.  I  have  seen  a  regiment  consisting  of  thirty  7nen, 
and  a  company  of  one  corporal!  Nothing  was  so  difficult, 
and  often  so  impossible,  as  to  get  a  correct  list  of  the  state  or 
a  return  of  any  company,  regiment,  or  corps.  As  in  the  En- 
glish service,  there  was  a  muster-master  general,  with  a  num- 
ber of  assistants.  It  was  the  duty  of  this  officer  to  ascertain 
and  report  every  month  the  effective  state  of  the  army,  for  the 
payment  of  the  men  and  officers.  This  operation  took  place 
as  follows:  each  captain  made  a  roll  of  his  company,  whether 
absent  or  present,  after  which  he  made  oath  before  a  superior 
officer  that  this  return  was  correct,  '  to  the  best  of  his  knowl- 
edge and  belief.'    The  muster-master  counted  the  men  present, 


1 1  G  L  I  F  E      O  F      S  T  E  IT  R  E  X  . 

and  the  absent  were  marked  by  him  for  their  pay  upon  the 
oath  of  the  eaptain.  I  am  very  fir  from  supposing  that  an 
officer  would  voluntarily  commit  a  fraud,  but  let  us  examine 
the  state  of  the  companies,  and  we  shall  see  the  correctness  of 
such  returns. 

"  The  company  had  twelve  men  present ;  absent,  one  man 
as  valet  to  the  commissary,  two  hundred  miles  distant  from 
the  army,  for  eighteen  months ;  one  man  valet  to  a  quarter- 
master attached  to  the  army  of  tlie  north,  for  twelve  months ; 
four  in  the  different  hospitals  for  so  many  months;  two  as 
drivers  of  carriages ;  and  so  many  more  as  bakers,  blacksmiths, 
carpenters,  even  as  coal-porters,  for  years  together,  although 
the  greater  number  were  only  engaged  for  nine  months  at  the 
outset.  But  a  man  once  on  the  roll  of  a  company,  remained 
there  everlastingly,  as  forming  part  of  the  effective  strength, 
except  in  case  of  death  or  desertion,  under  the  very  eyes  of 
the  captain. 

"  According  to  these  rolls,  the  strength  of  the  army  for 
pay  and  provisions  was  calculated.  The  regimental  returns 
furnished  to  the  adjutant  general  every  week,  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  general-in-chief,  as  to  the  strength  of  the  army, 
were  not  much  more  exact.  I  am  sure  that,  at  that  time,  a 
general  would  have  thought  himself  lucky  to  find  a  third  of 
the  men  ready  for  action  whom  he  found  on  paper. 

"The  soldiers  were  scattered  about  in  every  direction. 
The  army  was  looked  upon  as  a  nursery  for  servants,  and  every 
one  deemed  it  his  right  to  have  a  valet ;  several  thousand  sol- 
diers were  employed  in  this  way.  We  had  more  commissa- 
ries and  quarter-masters  at  that  time  than  all  the  armies  of 
Europe  together ;  the  most  modest  had  only  one  servant,  but 
others  had  two  and  even  three.  If  the  captains  and  colonels 
could  give  no  account  of  their  men,  they  could  give  still  less 
an  account  of  their  arms,  accouterments,  clothing,  ammuni- 
tion, camp  equipage,  etc.  Nobody  kept  an  account  but  the 
commissaries,   who  furnished  all  the   articles.      A  company, 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  117 

which  consisted,  in  May,  of  fifty  men,  was  armed,  clothed  and 
equipped  in  June.  It  then  consisted  of  thirty  men  ;  in  July 
it  received  thirty  recruits,  who  were  to  be  clothed,  armed  and 
equipped  ;  and  not  only  the  clothes,  but  the  arms  were  car- 
ried off  by  those  who  had  completed  their  time  of  service. 

General  Knox  assured  me  that,  previous  to  the  establish- 
ment of  my  department,  there  never  was  a  campaign  in  which 
the  military  magazines  did  not  furnish  from  five  thousand  to 
eight  thousand  muskets*  to  replace  those  which  were  lost  in 
the  way  I  have  described  above.  The  loss  of  bayonets  was 
still  greater.  The  American  soldier,  never  having  used  this 
arm,  had  no  faith  in  it,  and  never  used  it  but  to  roast  his  beef- 
steak, and  indeed  often  left  it  at  home.  This  is  not  astonish- 
ing when  it  is  considered  that  the  majority  of  the  States  en- 
gaged their  soldiers  for  from  six  to  nine  months.  Each  man 
who  went  away  took  his  musket  with  him,  and  his  successor 
received  another  from  the  public  store.  No  captain  kept  a 
book.  Accounts  were  never  furnished  nor  required.  As  our 
army  is,  thank  God,  little  subject  to  desertion,  I  venture  to 
say  that  during  an  entire  campaign  there  have  not  been  twenty 
muskets  lost  since  my  system  came  into  force.  It  was  the 
same  with  the  pouches  and  other  accouterments,  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  I  exaggerate  when  I  state  that  my  arrangements 
have  saved  the  United  States  at  least  eight  hundred  thousand 
French  livres  a  year. 

"The  arms  at  Valley  Forge  were  in  a  horrible  condition, 
covered  with  rust,  Half  of  them  without  bayonets,  many  from 
which  a  single  shot  could  not  be  fired.  The  pouches  were 
quite  as  bad  as  the  arms.  A  great  many  of  the  men  had  tin 
boxes  instead  of  pouches,  others  had  cow-horns  ;  and  muskets, 
carbines,  fowling-pieces,  and  rifles  were  to  be  seen  in  the  same 
company. 

"The  description  of  the  dress  is  most  easily  given.     The 

*  The  price  of  a  musket  was  fixed,  in  the  regulations  of  1779,  at  sixteen 
dollars  without  bayonet,  and  eighteen  dollars  with  bayonet. 


118  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

men  were  literally  naked,  some  of  them  in  the  fullest  extent 
of  the  word.  The  officers  who  had  coats,  had  them  of  every 
color  and  make.  I  saw  officers,  at  a  grand  parade  at  Valley 
Forge,  mounting  guard  in  a  sort  of  dressing-gown,  made  of 
an  old  blanket  or  woolen  bed-cover.  With  regard  to  their 
military  discipline,  I  may  safely  say  no  such  thing  existed.  In 
the  first  place  there  was  no  regular  formation.  A  so-called 
regiment  was  formed  of  three  platoons,  another  of  five,  eight, 
nine,  and  the  Canadian  regiment  of  twenty-one.  The  forma- 
tion of  the  regiments  was  as  varied  as  their  mode  of  drill, 
which  only  consisted  of  the  manual  exercise.  Each  colonel 
had  a  system  of  his  own,  the  one  according  to  the  English,  the 
other  according  to  the  Prussian  or  French  style.  There  was 
only  one  thing  in  which  they  were  uniform,  and  that  was,  the 
way  of  marching  in  the  maneuvers  and  on  the  line  of  march. 
They  all  adopted  the  mode  of  marching  in  files  used  by  the 
Indian?.  Mr.  De  Conway  had  introduced  platoons  and  many 
other  things;  but  as  he  was  not  liked,  they  had  allowed  all 
his  instructions  to  fall  into  disuse,  so  that  I  scarcely  found 
a  trace  of  them.  It  is  also  necessary  to  remark,  that  the 
changing  the  men,  the  reductions  and  continual  incorporations 
deprived  the  corps  and  regiments  of  all  consistence.  There 
was  another  evil  still  more  subversive  of  order  in  an  army : 
the  captains  and  colonels  did  not  consider  their  companies  and 
regiments  as  corps  confided  to  thorn  by  the  United  States  for 
the  care  of  the  men  as  well  as  the  preservation  of  order  and 
discipline.  The  greater  part  of  the  captains  had  no  roll  of 
their  companies,  and  had  no  idea  how  many  men  they  had  un- 
der their  orders.  When  I  asked  a  colonel  the  strength  of  his 
regiment,  the  usual  reply  was,  '  something  between  two  and 
three  hundred  men.'  The  colonels,  and  often  the  captains, 
granted  leave  of  absence  as  they  thought  proper,  and  not  only 
that,  but  permissions  to  retire  from  the  service.  The  officers 
were  not  accustomed  to  remain  with  the  troops  when  the 
army  was  in  camp ;  they  lived  in  houses,  often   several  miles 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  119 

distant.  In  winter  quarters  they  nearly  all  went  home,  and 
there  were  often  not  more  than  four  officers  with  a  regiment. 
In  the  campaign  of  1T70,  I  found  a  Massachusetts  regiment 
commanded  by  a  lieutenant.  The  idea  they  had  of  their  duty 
was,  that  the  officers  had  only  to  mount  guard  and  put  them- 
selves at  the  head  of  their  regiment  or  company  when  they 
were  going  into  action. 

"The  internal  administration  of  a  regiment  and  a  com- 
pany was  a  thing  completely  unknown.  The  quarter-master 
received  arms,  ammunition  and  camp  equipage,  for  an  entire 
brigade.  The  clothing  and  provisions  were  distributed  in  the 
same  way  by  brigades.  A  captain  who  did  not  know  the 
number  of  men  in  his  company,  could  not  know  the  number 
of  the  rations  and  other  articles  necessary  for  it.  There  were 
absolutely  no  regulations  for  the  service  of  the  camp  and  of 
the  guards.  Each  colonel  encamped  his  regiment  according 
to  his  fancy.  There  were  guards  and  pickets,  and  sometimes 
too  many  ;  but  the  officers  did  not  know  their  duty,  and  in 
many  instances  did  not  understand  the  object  of  the  guard. 
An  infinity  of  internal  guards  for  the  commissaries  of  for- 
age and  provisions,  and  for  the  quarter-master,  weakened  the 
strength  of  the  army,  the  more  so,  because  these  guards  were 
never  relieved,  and  remained  from  one  year  to  another.  Their 
arms  were  lost,  and  they  were  all  the  servants  of  the  commis- 
sary, who  often  granted  them  leave  not  only  for  six  months, 
but  without  limitation.  It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  enu- 
merate the  abuses  which  nearly  ruined  the  army.  The  above 
is  a  general  view  of  the  situation  of  the  American  army  as  I 
found  it  at  Valley  Forge  in  the  month  of  February,  1778." 

Duponceau's  sketch  of  the  state  of  affairs  at  Valley  Forge 
gives  more  the  domestic  than  the  military  aspect  of  things, 
and  may  therefore,  with  good  reason,  form  the  supplement  to 
Steuben's  characteristic  sketch. 

"  We  dined,"  says  he,  "  twice  or  thrice  a  week  with  Gen- 
eral Washington.     We  visited  him  also  in  the  evening,  when 


120  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Mrs.  Washington  was  at  hoad-quarters.     We  were  in  a  man- 
ner domesticated  in  the  family.     As  to  the  situation  of  our 
army,  suffice  it  to  say  that  we  were  in  want  of  provisions,  of 
clothing,  of  fodder  for  our  horses,  in  short,  of  every  thing.     I 
remember  seeing  the  soldiers  popping  their  heads  out  of  their 
miserable  huts,  and  calling  out,  in  an  under  tone,  'No  bread, 
no   soldier!'      Their  condition  was  truly  pitiful,   and    'their 
courage  and  their  perseverance  is  beyond  all  praise.'     We, 
who  lived  in  good  quarters,  did  not  feel  the  misery  of  the 
times  so  much  as  the  common  soldiers  and  the  subaltern  offi- 
cers; yet,  we  had  more  than  once  to  share  our   rations  with 
the  sentry  at  our  door.     We  put  the  best  face  we  could  upon 
the  matter.     Once,  with  the  baron's  permission,  his  aids  invit- 
ed a  number  of  young  officers  to  dine  at  our  quarters,  on  con- 
dition that  none  should  be  admitted  that  had  on  a  whole  pair 
of  breeches.     This  was  of  course  understood  as  pom  pro  toto  ; 
but  torn  clothes  were  an  indispensable  requisite  for  admission, 
and  in  this  the  guests  were  very  sure  not  to  fail.  The  dinner  took 
place.     The  guests  clubbed  their  rations,  and  we  feasted  suinp- 
tously  on  tough  beefsteak  and  potatoes,  with  hickory  nuts  for 
our  dessert.     Instead  of  wine  we  had  some  kind  of  spirits, 
With  which  we  made  '  salamanders,'  that  is  to  say,  after  fill- 
ing our  glasses,  we  set  the  liquor  on  fire  and  drank  it  up, 
flame  and  all.     Such  a  set  of  ragged,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
merry  fellows,  were  never  brought  together.    The  baron  loved 
to  speak  of  that  dinner,  and  of  his  '  sansculottes,'  as  he  called 
us.     Thus  this  denomination  was  first   invented  in  America 
and  applied  to  the  brave  officers  and  soldiers  of  our  revolu- 
tionary army. 

"  In  the  midst  of  all  our  distress  there  were  some  bright 
sides  of  the  picture,  which  Valley  Forge  exhibited  at  that 
time.  Mrs.  Washington  had  the  courage  to  follow  her  husband 
to  that  dismal  abode,  and  other  ladies  also  graced  the  scene. 
Among  them  was  the  lady  of  General  Greene,  a  handsome,  el- 
egant and  accomplished  woman.     Her  dwelling  was  the  resort 


LIFE     OE     STEUBEN.  121 

of  foreign  officers,  because  she  spoke  the  French  language 
and  was  well  versed  in  French  literature.  They  often  met 
at  each  other's  quarters,  and  sometimes  at  General  Washing- 
ton's, where  the  evening  was  spent  in  conversation  over  a  cup 
of  tea  or  coffee.  There  were  no  levees  or  formal  soirees,  no 
dancing  and  playing,  or  amusements  of  any  kind,  except  sing- 
ing. Every  gentleman  or  lady  who  could  sing  was  called 
"  upon  in  turn  for  a  song." 

Two  months  before  Steuben  arrived  in  camp,  the  office 
of  inspector  general  had  been  created,  in  conformity  with  the 
propositions  and  wishes  of  General  Conway.  Congress,  in 
their  session  of  December  13,  1777,  resolved,* 

a  That  it  is  essential  to  the  promotion  of  discipline  in  the 
American  army,  and  to  the  reformation  of  the  various  abuses 
which  prevail  in  the  different  departments,  that  an  appoint- 
ment be  made  of  inspector  general,  agreeable  to  the  practice 
of  the  best  disciplined  European  armies  ;  that  this  appoint- 
ment be  conferred  on  experienced  and  vigilant  general  offi- 
cers, who  are  acquainted  with  whatever  relates  to  the  general 
economy,  maneuvers  and  discipline  of  a  well  regulated  army." 

The  duties  of  these  officers,  or  rather  of  this  officer,  as 
Conway  alone  was  elected  for  this  office,  were  shaped  after 
the  model  of  the  French  army,  and  consisted  in  instructing, 
maneuvering  and  reviewing  the  troops,  in  preparing  and 
transmitting  to  Congress  the  necessary  returns  of  clothing, 
accoutrements,  payment  of  the  men  and  of  the  casualties. 

This  plan,  like  that  of  creating  the  office  of  commissary 
general,  was  proposed  in  direct  opposition  to  the  opinion  of 
the  commander-in-chief.  u  It  created,"  to  use  Judge  John 
Marshall's  words,  "  an  imperium  in  imperio  y"  it  made  the 
inspector  only  accountable  to,  and  removable  by,  Congress, 
and  at  the  same  time  independent  of  the  commander-in 
chief.     "It  conferred  powers,"  as  Alexander  Hamilton  justly 

*  Journal  of  Congress,  iii.,  1777,  pp.  574  and  575. 
0 


122  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

remarked,  "  which  could  not  fail  to  produce  universal  op- 
position in  the  army,  and  by  making  the  previous  concur- 
rence of  the  board  of  war  requisite  to  the  introduction  of 
every  regulation  which  might  be  found  necessary,  opened  a 
continual  source  of  delay,  which  was  calculated  to  defeat  the 
usefulness  of  the  institution." 

Conway  expected  to  use  it  as  an  effectual  though  indirect 
means  of  attack  in  his  notorious  cabal  against  the  commander- 
in-chief,  whom  he  did  not  dare  to  assail  directly.  The  worth- 
less intriguer,  however,  never  exercised  the  duties  of  his  office. 
After  his  cabal  against  "Washington  had  exploded,  he  retired 
from  the  army,  where  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  major 
general  had  caused  great  dissatisfaction,  and  resigned  his 
commission  about  the  end  of  April.  Thus,  the  whole  plan 
never  went  into  operation,  and  existed  only  on  paper  when 
Steuben  joined  the  army  at  Valley  Forge. 

Washington  knew  but  too  well,  by  the  experience  of  the 
last  campaigns,  that  a  well-organized  inspectorship  was  the 
best  remedy  against  the  principal  defects  and  irregularities  01 
the  army,  and  was  at  the  same  time  aware  that  Congress,  af- 
ter having  appointed  Conway  to  the  office  of  inspector  general, 
could  not  but  agree  with  his  wishes  of  a  permanent  and  effi- 
cient establishment  of  this  important  branch  of  military  disci- 
pline. Steuben  arrived,  therefore,  very  opportunely  at  the 
camp.  Offering  his  services  as  a  volunteer,  ho  could  give  no 
umbrage  to  the  native  officers  by  claiming  a  rank  equal  or 
superior  to  them,  and  having  been  trained  in  the  best  war 
school  of  his  time,  and  strongly  recommended  by  competent 
judges  and  impartial  friends,  he  was  just  the  man  whom  the 
commander-in-chief  wanted,  as  the  American  officers  were 
almost  entirely  ignorant  of  military  tactics.  Steuben  most 
cheerfully  accepted  the  offer  of  a  temporary  inspectorship 
which  Washington  made  to  him,  and  commenced  the  disci- 
pline j?nd  exercise  of  the  troops  early  in  March,  1778. 

"  I  found  it  useless,"  so  he  continues  in  the  above-quoted 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  123 

memorial,  "  to  trouble  myself  about  the  many  things  which  I 
could  not  remedy.  I  directed  my  attention  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  discipline  of  the  army.  To  establish  the  inspection 
on  the  same  footing  as  in  France  and  Prussia  would  not  have 
answered  the  purpose.  In  these  services  the  inspector  general 
reviews  the  troops  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  a  campaign  ; 
he  examines  the  state  of  the  men,  their  arms  and  accouter- 
ments  ;  exercises  and  maneuvers  them  ;  sees  that  they  adhere 
to  the  prescribed  regulations ;  that  they  follow  the  system  laid 
down  by  the  minister  at  war,  to  whom  he  makes  his  reports, 
and  recommends  for  promotion,  pardon,  and  reward. 

"  I  found  here  neither  rules,  nor  regulations,  nor  system, 
nor  minister  at  war,  nor  pardon,  nor  reward.  The  inspector 
general  in  Prussia  and  France  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  money  department ;  here  it  was  necessary  that  he  or  some 
one  else  should  take  charge  of  it.  This  mysterious  department 
was  a  mere  farce.  The  war  commissary  in  France  examines 
the  books  and  accounts  of  the  different  regiments  and  compa- 
nies ;  here,  there  were  no  books  and  no  accounts,  and  conse- 
quently no  one  to  examine  them. 

"All  this  required  an  immediate  remedy.  But  how  to 
commence,  was  the  question. 

"  General  Conway  followed  the  routine  of  the  inspectors 
in  France,  but  that  did  not  answer  the  purpose.  It  was, 
therefore,  essential  to  create  a  department,  under  some  name 
or  other,  to  organize  it  so  as  to  rectify  the  abuses,  found  some 
simple  but  firm  system,  and  put  it  into  execution  at  once.  I 
found  a  committee  of  Congress  in  camp  concerting  with  the 
commander-in-chief  for  regulating  several  matters  connected 
with  the  army,  such  as  fixing  the  number  of  regiments  and 
companies,  which  was  one  of  the  most  essential  things  to  be 
determined.  Congress  approved  of  their  resolution  on  that 
head,  but  the  means  for  putting  it  into  execution  were  yet 
wanting.  There  was  no  established  system  of  maneuvers,  no 
settled  regulations  for  discipline  and  good  order,  and  no  uni- 


124  LIFE     OF      STEUUEN. 

fbrmity  in  the  service.  General  Washington  proposed  to  me 
to  sketch  out  a  plan  for  establishing  an  inspection  in  order  to 
introduce  system  and  uniformity  into  all  these  matters.  I 
sketched  a  variety  of  different  plans,  but  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  to  find  an  arrangement  likely  to  succeed  so  as  not  to 
disgust  the  officers  belonging  to  so  many  different  States,  and 
to  form  a  plan  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  the  nation,  and 
with  the  prejudices,  however  well  or  ill  founded  they  might 
be,  against  foreigners.  I  was  often  obliged  to  abandon  ideas  I 
had  formed  ;  I  was  in  want  of  information  and  advice,  and  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  find  a  few  officers  of  merit,  who  gave  rne 
every  satisfaction  ;  they  were  General  Greene,  Colonel  Laurens, 
and  Colonel  Hamilton.  Having  drawn  out  my  last  plan,  I 
communicated  it  to  these  three  officers,  and  made  the  altera- 
tions they  deemed  advisable,  before  I  presented  it  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. Time  was  precious,  and  I  worked  day  and 
night.  I  finally  proposed  that  an  inspector  general  ought  to 
be  appointed  at  once  who  should  establish  a  uniform  system 
for  forming  the  troops  ;  for  exercising  and  maneuvering  them  ; 
for  their  duties  in  camp  and  on  the  march  ;  and  for  the  duties 
of  guards,  pickets  and  sentries.  He  should  also  define  and 
point  out  the  duties  of  every  officer,  from  the  colonel  to  the 
corporal ;  the  manner  in  which  returns  or  lists  of  the  men, 
arms,  accouterments,  clothing,  and  camp  equipage,  should  be 
made,  and  appoint  a  uniform  method  of  book-keeping,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  books  of  the  regiments,  of  companies,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  adjutant,  pay-master,  quarter-master,  and  cloth- 
ing-master of  each  regiment,  should  be  kept ;  that  this  inspector 
should  review  the  troops  every  month,  exercise  and  maneuver 
them,  examine  the  returns  and  books,  and  make  his  written 
return  to  the  commander-in-chief  and  to  the  board  of  war, 
etc.,  etc. ;  that  a  colonel  from  each  division  should  be  chosen 
by  the  inspector  general,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  see  that 
the  ordinances  and  arrangements  which  the  inspector  might 
think  proper  to  establish,  with  the  consent  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  j  be  duly  executed  and  obeyed. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  1 25 

"That  a  major  from  each  brigade  be  chosen  by  tne  in- 
spector.general  to  exercise  the  same  functions  in  the  brigade, 
in  addition  to  those  of  a  brigade  major  in  the  French  service. 
He  should  also  receive  all  the  returns  of  every  description, 
and  examine  them  accurately  before  transmitting  them  to  the 
adjutant  general  or  chief  of  the  department  to  which  they  are 
addressed,  whether  that  of  the  quarter-master,  clothing-master, 
pay-master,  or  commissary.  All  orders  for  the  brigade  should 
be  addressed  to  that  officer  to  communicate  them  to  the  bri- 
gade. 

"That  the  colonels  shall  be  called  inspectors  of  divisions, 
and  the  majors,  inspectors  of  brigades.  That  the  former 
brigade  majors,  who,  in  imitation  of  the  English  army,  were 
merely  aids-de-camp  to  the  brigadier  general,  and  who,  for 
the  most  part,  are  young  men  who  never  saw  a  guard 
mounted,  should  be  abolished,  and  that  the  brigadier  general 
be  at  liberty  to  take  a  subaltern  officer  as  aid-de-camp.  That 
the  inspectors  of  divisions  be  allowed  additional  pay  of  thirty 
dollars,  and  the  inspectors  of  brigades  twenty  dollars,  a  month, 
and  some  additional  rations  more  than  other  officers  of  the 
same  rank. 

"  I  added  to  the  above  that  the  inspector  general  be  obliged 
to  draw  up  a  sort  of  military  code  which,  when  approved  by 
the  commander-in-chief  and  authorized  by  Congress,  shall  take 
effect  as  an  ordinance  for  the  army. 

"This  plan  was  npproved  by  General  Washington  and  com- 
municated to  Congress.  Some  days  after  I  had  delivered  it 
the  general  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  undertake  its  exe- 
cution myself?  I  replied  that  I  would  do  so  on  condition 
that  the  general  should  give  me  the  support  and  assistance 
necessary  for  so  important  a  task. 

"Among  the  many  obligations  which  I  owe  to  General 
Washington,  I  shall  always  esteem  it  among  the  greatest,  the 
selection  which  he  made  among  the  officers  to  aid  me  in  this 
work.     It  is  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  I  again  mention 


126  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

the  names  of  my  first  inspectors  of  divisions,  Colonels  Wil- 
liams, Brooks,  Fleury,  Sprout,  Barber,  Harmer,  Davies,  Scam- 
mel  and  Ternant,  and  of  brigade  majors  Fish,  English  and 
many  others,  who  would  be  considered  excellent  officers  in 
any  service,  in  Europe. 

"  I  commenced  operations  by  drafting  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  from  the  line,  whom  I  formed  into  a  guard  for 
the  general-in-chief.  I  made  this  guard  my  military  school. 
I  drilled  them  myself  twice  a  day ;  and  to  remove  that 
English  prejudice  which  some  officers  entertained,  namely, 
that  to  drill  a  recruit  was  a  sergeant's  duty  and  beneath 
the  station  of  an  officer,  I  often  took  the  musket  myselt 
to  show  the  men  the  manual  exercise  which  I  wished  to 
introduce.  All  my  inspectors  were  present  at  each  drill. 
We  marched  together,  wheeled,  etc.,  etc.,  and  in  a  fortnight 
my  company  knew  perfectly  how  to  bear  arms,  had  a  military 
air,  knew  how  to  march,  to  form  in  column,  deploy,  and  exe- 
cute some  little  maneuvers  with  excellent  precision. 

"It  must  be  owned  that  they  did  not  know  much  of  the 
manual  exercise,  and  I  ought  to  mention  the  reasons  why  I 
departed  altogether  from  the  general  rule  of  all  European 
armies,  and  commenced  with  the  manual  exercise  in  drilling 
recruits  like  children  learning  their  alphabet.  In  the  first 
place,  I  had  no  time  to  do  otherwise.  In  our  European 
armies  a  man  who  has  been  drilled  for  three  months  is  called 
a  recruit;  here,  in  two  months  I  must  have  a  soldier.  In 
Europe  we  had  a  number  of  evolutions  very  pretty  to  look  at 
when  well  executed,  but  in  my  opinion  absolutely  useless  so 
far  as  essential  objects  are  concerned.  In  Prussia,  to  fire  and 
charge  several  times  a  minute  is  a  matter  of  boast ;  the  conse- 
quence is  that  the  men,  when  they  are  using  ball  cartridge, 
often  load  badly.  A  company  is  drilled  for  a  long  time  in  pla- 
toon firing,  and  the  more  the  firing  resembles  the  noise  of  a 
cannon  shot,  the  better  it  is. 

"I  have  often  remarked  that  the  Prussians,  after  the  first 


J.  I  F  E     O  F      8  T  E  U  B  K  N  .  127 

charge  in  action,  no  longer  practice  platoon  firing,  do  not  load 
so  often  in  a  minute  and  fire  quite  as  badly  as  the  Russians, 
Austrians  or  French.  I,  nevertheless,  taught  my  company  to 
carry  arms,  stand  at  ease,  present  arms,  to  load,  take  aim,  fire 
by  platoons,  and  to  charge  bayonets.  Another  reason  that 
induced  me  to  pay  but  little  attention  to  this  eternal  manual 
exercise,  was  that  several  of  my  predecessors  commenced  with 
it,  and  before  they  had  surmounted  these  preliminaries,  were 
obliged  to  quit  the  service,  having  lost  their  influence,  and  be- 
fore the  young  officers  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  prac- 
tical advantage  of  this  elementary  instruction.  This  induced 
me  to  reverse  the  old  system,  and  instead  of  commencing  with 
the  manual  and  platoon  exercise  and  ending  with  maneuvers,  I 
commenced  with  maneuvers  and  finished  with  the  exercise. 
I  recollect  that  in  the  beginning  of  my  second  campaign  I 
executed  a  maneuver  with  a  portion  of  the  army,  which  was 
remarkably  well  done.  After  it  was  over  the  officers  came 
round  me  to  receive  the  approbation  to  which  they  were  ac- 
customed, believing  that  they  had  proved  themselves  perfect 
tacticians.  They  were  very  much  astonished  when  I  told  them 
that  it  was  now  time  to  begin  with  the  alphabet ;  that  we 
should  drill  the  men,  one  by  one  ;  then  by  six,  and  afterward 
by  platoons ;  teach  them  how  to  carry  themselves,  to  march 
well,  to  use  their  arms  with  alacrity  and  precision,  and  so  on 
until  they  had  learned  every  thing.  No  objection  was  made. 
I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  (without  being  seen)  the  colo- 
nel and  his  officers  drill  the  men,  one  by  one,  and  I  thought 
that  had  I  proposed  to  them  to  do  this  at  Valley  Forge,  I 
should  never  have  succeeded. 

"  Another  reason  that  induced  me  to  omit  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  manual  exercise  was,  that  as  the  army  had  no  special 
ordinance  or  fixed  rules  on  the  subject,  every  colonel  had  in- 
troduced a  system  of  drill  of  his  own — one  on  the  English, 
another  on  the  French,  and  a  third  on  the  Prussian  plan ;  and 
those  who  had  taken  the  greatest  pains  were  naturally  the 


128  L  [  F  E      0  F      S  T  E  tJ  J>,  E  N  . 

most  attached  to  their  own  work.  Had  I  destroyed  their  pro- 
ductions, they  would  all  have  detested  me.  I  therefore  pre- 
ferred to  pay  no  special  attention  to  this  subject  until  I  had 
won  their  confidence.  It  was  not  so  with  regard  to  maneu- 
vers. They  had  not  meddled  with  them.  Fortunately  there 
was  not  a  single  good  English  book  that  contained  the  rules 
of  tactics. 

"  To  follow  the  thread  of  my  operations,  I  had  my  com- 
pany of  guards  exactly  as  I  wished  them  to  be.  They  were 
well  dressed,  their  arms  clean  and  in  good  order,  and  their 
general  appearance  quite  respectable. 

"  I  paraded  them  in  presence  of  all  the  officers  of  the  army, 
and  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  exhibiting  all  they  knew. 
They  formed  in  column  ;  deployed  ;  attacked  with  the  bayo- 
net ;  changed  front,  etc.,  etc.  It  afforded  a  new  and  agreea- 
ble sight  for  the  young  officers  and  soldiers.  Having  gained 
my  point,  I  dispersed  my  apostles,  the  inspectors,  and  my  new 
doctrine  was  eagerly  embraced.  I  lost  no  time  in  extending 
my  operations  on  a  large  scale.  I  applied  my  system  to  bat- 
talions, afterward  to  brigades,  and  in  less  than  three  weeks  I 
executed  maneuvers  with  an  entire  division  in  presence  of  the 
commander-in-chief." 

Steuben's  statements  are  corroborated  by  the  testimony  of 
some  eye  witnesses,  which  furnishes  additional  proof  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  went  to  work. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  L.  Fleury,  who  acted  as  sub-inspector 
of  the  Maryland  brigade  and  executed  strictly  Steuben's  or- 
ders, describes  his  duties  and  those  of  his  troops,  in  a  letter 
dated  Wilmington,  April  5th,  1778,  as  follows  :* 

"  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  division  is  ordered  to 
general  parade,  and  the  soldiers  in  squads  of  always  eight,  are 
drilled  in  ordinary  marching.  A  non-commissioned  officer 
marches  at  their  right,  a  little  in  advance,  to  give  the  time 
and  the  step,  and  he  drills  them  in  marching  with  and  without 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


IJPE      OF     STEUBEN.  129 

music  or  drums.  This  drill  lasts  two  hours.  At  nine  o'clock 
is  the  parade ;  the  soldiers  are  then  taught  the  few  movements 
in  which  they  are  to  be  instructed  after  the  use  of  arms.  At 
noon  particular  instruction  is  given  to  the  non-commissioned 
officers.  At  three  o'clock,  drilling  in  divisions  as  in  the  morn- 
ing; at  six  o'clock,  p.  m.,  meeting  of  the  adjutants  in  my  quar- 
ters for  instruction  in  theoretic  maneuvering  and  the  empha- 
sis to  be  used  in  giving  the  word  of  command." 

"  Baron  Steuben,"  says  A.  Scammel,  in  a  letter  dated  Val- 
ley Forge,  April  8th,  1778,  to  General  John  Sullivan,*  "sets 
us  a  truly  noble  example.  He  has  undertaken  the  discipline 
of  the  army,  and  shows  himself  to  be  a  perfect  master  of  it, 
not  only  in  the  grand  maneuvers,  but  in  the  most  minute 
details.  To  see  a  gentleman,  dignified  with  a  lieutenant  gen- 
eral's commission  from  the  great  Prussian  monarch,  conde- 
scend, with  a  grace  peculiar  to  himself,  to  take  under  his  direc- 
tion a  squad  of  ten  or  twelve  men  in  the  capacity  of  drill-ser- 
geant, commands  the  admiration  of  both  officers  and  men,  and 
causes  them  to  improve  exceedingly  fast  under  his  instruc- 
tions." 

The  most  interesting  narrative  of  the  energy  employed  by 
Steuben,  and  the  success  of  his  system,  is  given  by  his  favor- 
ite aid-de  camp  and  intimate  friend,  William  North,  who  was 
with  him  from  the  beginning.  He  says  in  his  biographical 
sketch : 

u  Certainly  it  was  a  brave  attempt !  Without  understand- 
ing a  word  of  the  English  language,  to  think  of  bringing  men, 
born  free,  and  joined  together  to  preserve  their  freedom,  into 
strict  subjection, ;  to  obey  without  a  word,  a  look,  the  man- 
dates of  a  master !  that  master  once  their  equal,  or  possibly 
beneath  them,  in  whatever  might  become  a  man  !  It  was  a 
brave  attempt,  which  nothing  but  virtue,  or  high-raised  hopes 
of  glory,   could  have    supported.     At  the  first  parade,   the 

*  I  am  obliged  to  Thomas  C.  Amory,  jr.,  Esq.,  the  biographer  of  General 
Sullivan,  for  the  kind  communication  of  this  interesting  letter. 

6* 


130  I,  T  F  E      OF      STKI'IVEN. 

troops  neither  understanding  the  command,  nor  how  to  follow 
in  a  changement  to  which  they  had  not  been  accustomed,  even 
with  the  instructor  at  their  head,  were  getting  fast  into  con- 
fusion. At  this  moment,  Captain  B.  Walker,  then  of  the 
second  New  York  regiment,  advanced  from  his  platoon,  and 
offered  his  assistance  to  translate  the  orders  and  interpret  to 
the  troops.  '  If,'  said  the  baron,  '  I  had  seen  an  angel  from 
heaven,  I  should  not  have  more  rejoiced.'  The  officers  in  the 
army  who  spoke  English  and  French  fluently  were  indeed 
very  few  in  number — how  few  were  so  capable  of  giving  as- 
sistance to  the  baron  in  the  formation  of  his  system.  Walker 
became  from  that  moment  his  aid-de-camp,  and  remained  to 
the  end  of  the  baron's  life  his  dear  and  most  worthy  friend. 
From  the  commencement  of  instruction,  no  time,  no  pains,  no 
fatigue  were  thought  too  great,  in  pursuit  of  this  great  object. 
Through  the  whole  of  each  campaign,  when  troops  were  to 
maneuver,  and  that  was  almost  every  day,  the  baron  rose  at 
three  o'clock ;  while  his  servant  dressed  his  hair,  he  smoked  a 
single  pipe  and  drank  one  cup  of  coffee,  was  on  horseback  at 
sunrise,  and  with,  or  without  his  suite,  galloped  to  the  parade. 
There  was  no  waiting  for  a  tardy  aid-de-c:imp,  and  those  who 
followed  wished  they  had  not  slept.  Nor  was  there  need  of 
chiding ;  when  duty  was  neglected,  or  military  etiquette  in- 
fringed, the  baron's  look  was  quite  sufficient.  It  was  a  ques- 
tion, why,  in  the  first  instance,  our  troops  had  been  put  to  the 
performance  of  the  great  maneuvers.  I  beg  pardon  for  call- 
ing them  great,  but  they  were  great  to  us,  for  we  were  igno- 
rant. Bland's  exercise  and  Symtnes's  military  guide  were  al- 
most the  only  poor  and  scanty  sources  from  which  we  drew. 
To  the  question,  it  was  answered  that  in  fact  there  was  no  time 
to  spare  in  learning  the  minutiae — the  troops  must  be  prepared 
for  instant  combat ;  that  on  a  field  of  battle,  how  to  display 
or  fold  a  column,  or  to  changes  a  front,  was  of  th3  first  conse- 
quence;  that  the  business  was  to  give  the  troops  a  relish  for 
their  trade,  a  contidence  in  their  skill  in  the  performance  of 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  131 

complicated  evolutions  ;  that,  even  if  time  permitted,  the  offi- 
cers, copying  the  bad  example  set  them  by  the  British,  of  re- 
ferring all  instruction  to  the  sergeants,  would  feel  themselves 
degraded  in  attending  to  an  awkward  squad.  c  But  the  time 
will  come,'  said  he,  '  when  a  better  mode  of  thinking  will  pre- 
vail; then  we  will  attend  to  the  a  b  c  of  the  profession.'  This 
prophecy  was  amply  fulfilled.  A  year  or  two  afterwards  the 
baron  said  to  me,  '  Do  you  see  there,  sir,  your  colonel  in- 
structing that  recruit  ?     I  thank  God  for  that !'  "  ^ 

Things  were  progressing  as  well  as  possible.  Steuben  en- 
joyed the  confidence  of  both  officers  and  men,  and  every  thing 
he  proposed  was  executed  with  as  much  precision  as  if  it  were 
an  order  from  the  commander-in-chief.  Although  he  was  only 
a  volunteer,  without  any  specific  rank  in  the  army,  he  had 
greater  power  and  authority  than  any  general  could  boast  of. 

*  Page  3  of  "  A  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Baron  Steuben,  Inter- 
spersed with  a  Variety  of  Anecdotes  and  Historical  Facts  Relating  to  the  Rev- 
olutionary War."  The  author  of  this  highly  valuable  pamphlet,  of  fourteen 
pages,  is  General  William  North,  Steuben's  aid-de-camp.  Thacher  and  Bowen 
have  amply  quoted  from  it.  There  are  very  few  copies  of  the  pamphlet  now 
in  existence ;  we  have,  therefore,  thought  it  expedient  to  make  copious  ex- 
tracts from  its  pages. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Steuben  commences  Maneuvering  ok  the  Tkoops. — Washington  appreciates  the 
Importance  of  the  Inspectorship. — General  Orders  acknowledging  the  Re- 
sults of  his  Exertions. — Washington's  Letter  of  the  30th  of  April,  1778, 
about  the  office  of  inspector  general  and  steuben's  merits. — s'1'euben  ap- 
POINTED Major  General  and  Inspector  General. — The  News  of  the  French 
Alliance  reaches  the  Camp. — Universal  Joy. — Sanguine  Hopes  for  the  Fu- 
ture.— People  relax  their  Exertions. — Steuben  apprehends  a  speedy  Peace. 
— Interesting  Correspondence  with  Henry  Laurens.— Celebration  of  the 
French  Alliance  by  Steuben's  grand  Maneuver. — General  Order  of  the  7th 
of  May  thanks  Steuben  for  his  Activity. — His  Appointment  the  Signal  for  a 
Cabal.— Steuben's  Authority  and  Functions  curtailed.— Bad  Effects  of  this 
Jealousy. — Letter  of  Alexander  Hamilton  to  William  Duer,  illustrating 
this  Feeling. — Steuben  continues  to  perform  his  Duties. — His  Letter  to  the 
Board  of  War,  explaining  his  Ideas  about  the  Inspectorship.— The  Board  of 
War  adopts  Steuben's  Views,  and  lays  a  Plan  before  Congress,  which  is  not 
approved. — The  Intelligence  of  the  French  Treaty  highly  encouraging  to 
the  Army. — Council  of  War. — Self-Confidence  of  the  Army. — Good  Conse- 
quences of  Steuben's  Discipline,  Order,  and  general  Improvements. — Cotem- 
porary  Witnesses. — Gordon  and  Page. — Sir  William  Napier. — Evacuation  of 
Philadelphia  by  the  British. —Their  March  through  New  Jersey. — Steuben 
goes  to  York  to  get  the  Duties  of  his  Office  settled  by  Congress. — Washing- 
ton's Letter  and  temporary  Orders  of  the  15th  of  June,  1778.— Inspector 
General  degraded  to  a  Drill-Sergeant. — Steuben's  Letter  Of  the  18th  of 
June. — Congress  postpones  the  Settlement  of  the  Matter. — Bad  Policy  of  this 
Indecision. 

(TIIIE  commander-in-chief  also  very  soon  perceived  and  ap- 
■*-  preciated  the  enormous  advantage  which  the  army  derived 
from  the  labors  of  its  temporary  inspector,  and  fully  sensible 
of  the  value  of  his  services,  interposed  his  authority  on  Sten 
ben's  behalf,  and  used  all  his  influence  to  advance  the  object 
at  which  the  latter  aimed. 

Steuben  commenced  his  military  instructions  on  a  larger  scale 
on  the  24th  of  March,  ]  778,  with  the  elementary  maneuvers  of 
the  troops.  He  exercised  them  in  the  morning  and  afternoon, 
dining  an  entire  month,  at  the  end  of  which  they  were  able, 
on  the  29th  of  April,  to  perform  the  grand  maneuvers.  We 
need  not  to  enter  into  the  details  of  these  instructions,  as 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  133 

they  correspond  with  the  regulations  for  the  order  and  disci- 
pline of  the  army,  laid  down  a  year  afterwards,  and  as  we 
shall  allude  to  the  latter  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Washington's  orders  show  the  importance  which  he  at- 
tached to  Steuben's  office,  while  they  are,  at  the  same  time,  the 
official  acknowledgment  of  the  good  consequences  which  his 
labors  produced.  We  quote  here  a  few  which  illustrate  Steu- 
ben's efficiency  and  the  progress  of  his  system  :* 

"  Valley  Forge,  March  28th,  17 78. 

"  On  Sunday,  the  29th  of  March,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  all  the  brigade  inspectors,  with  the  officers  and  non- 
commissioned officers,  who  are  to  mount  guard  on  Monday, 
will  attend  at  head-quarters,  where  the  inspector  general  will 
instruct  them  in  what  is  to  be  done  the  next  day. 

"  The  Baron  Steuben,  a  lieutenant  general  in  foreign  ser- 
vice, and  a  gentleman  of  great  military  experience,  having 
obligingly  undertaken  the  exercise  of  inspector  general  in  the 
army,  the  commander-in-chief,  till  the  pleasure  of  Congress 
shall  be  known,  desires  he  may  be  respected  as  such  ;  and 
hopes  and  expects  that  all  officers,  of  whatever  rank  in  it, 
will  afford  him  every  aid  in  their  power  in  the  execution  of 
his  office.  Lieutenant  Colonels  Davies,  Brooks  and  Barber, 
and  Mr.  Ternant,  are  appointed  to  act  as  sub-inspectors ;  the 
three  former  retaining  their  rank  and  order  in  the  line. 

"  The  importance  of  establishing  an  uniform  system  of 
useful  maneuvers,  and  regularity  of  discipline,  must  be  obvi- 
ous ;  the  deficiency  of  our  army  in  those  respects  must  be 
equally  so  ;  but  the  time  we  probably  shall  have  to  introduce 
the  necessary  reformation  is  short.  With  the  most  active  ex- 
ertions, therefore,  of  officers  of  every  class,  it  may  be  possi- 
ble to  effect  all  the  improvement  that  may  be  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  the  ensuing  campaign.  Arguments  surely  need  not  be 
*  Revolutionary  Orders  of  General  Washington,  from  1778  to  1782.  Se- 
lected from  John  Whiting's  manuscripts  by  Henry  Whiting,  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel United  States  Army,  New  York  and  London,  1844. 


1  34  LIFE     OF    S  T  S  U  B  K  N  . 

multiplied  to  kindle  the  zeal  of  officers  in  a  matter  of  such 
great  moment  to  their  own  homes,  the  advancement  of  the 
service,  and  the  prosperity  of  our  arms." 

"April  19,  1778. 
"The  sub-inspectors  will  each  superintend  the  discipline 
of  each  brigade,  according  to  the  following  division,  viz.,  Mr. 
Ternant,  Woodford's,  Scott's  and  Mcintosh's ;  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Brooks,  First  and  Second  Pennsylvania,  Poor's  and 
Glover's;  Lieutenant  Colonel  Davies,  Larned's,  Patterson's, 
Weedon's  and  Muhlenberg's;  Lieutenant  Colonel  Barber, 
Maxwell's,  late  Conway's,  Huntington's  and  Varnum's." 

"April  21,  1778. 

"  The  colonels  and  commanding  officers  of  regiments  are  to 
make  it  an  invariable  rule  to  review  their  respective  regiments 
once  a  week,  look  into  the  state  and  condition  of  the  men's 
arms,  accouterments  and  clothes,  and  know  precisely  the  state 
of  them,  and  where  every  man  is. 

"The  brigadiers  and  commanding  officers  of  brigades  are  to 
do  the  same  in  their  respective  brigades,  at  least  once  a  fort- 
night. In  a  word,  it  is  expected  from  both  that  every  care 
and  attention  will  be  paid  to  keep  their  men  together,  and  the 
arms  and  accouterments  belonging  to  them  in  good  order. 

"This  is  also  to  be  considered  as  a  standing  order,  but 
not  to  supersede  the  daily  inspection  by  subordinate  officers, 
agreeably  to  former  orders." 

"May  4th,  1778. 

"  The  sub  and  brigade  inspectors  are  to  be  pointedly  exact 
in  pursuing  the  written  instructions  of  the  inspector  general, 
that  the  strictest  uniformity  may  be  observed  throughout  the 
army. 

"They  are  not  to  practice  one  single  maneuver  without  his 
direction,  nor  in  a  method  different  from  it.  Any  alteration 
or  innovation  will  again  plunge  the  army  into  that  contrariety 
and  confusion  from  which  it  is  endeavoring  to  emerge. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  135 

"  The  hours  of  exercise  will  also  be  exactly  attended  to  by 
each  brigade,  for  which  purpose,  and  that  no  other  difference 
may  arise  on  account  of  watches,  proper  attention  will  be  paid 
to  the  order  of  the  1st  of  April  last,  for  regulating  them  by 
that  of  the  adjutant  general.  The  commander-in-chief  requests 
the  brigadiers,  and  officers  commanding  brigades,  to  see  that 
these  orders  are  strictly  complied  with,  that  the  golden  op- 
portunity which  now  presents  itself  for  disciplining  the  army 
may  be  improved.  And  he  hopes  that  the  brigades  will  vie 
with  each  other  in  arriving  at  the  highest  pitch  of  excellence." 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1778,  about  six  weeks  after  Steuben 
had  commenced  his  active  duties,  Washington  made  the  fol- 
lowing report  to  Congress  :* 

"The  extensive  ill  consequences  arising  from  a  want  of 
uniformity  in  discipline  and  maneuvers  throughout  the  army, 
have  long  occasioned  me  to  wish  for  the  establishment  of  a 
well-organized  inspectorship,  and  the  concurrence  of  Congress 
in  the  same  views  has  induced  me  to  set  on  foot  a  temporary 
institution,  which,  from  the  success  that  has  hitherto  attended 
it,  gives  me  the  most  flattering  expectations,  and  will,  I  hope, 
obtain  their  approbation. 

"Baron  Steuben's  length  of  service  in  the  first  military 
school  in  Europe,  and  his  former  rank,  pointed  him  out  as  a 
person  peculiarly  qualified  to  be  at  the  head  of  this  depart- 
ment. This  appeared  the  least  exceptionable  way  of  intro- 
ducing him  into  the  army,  and  one  that  would  give  him  the 
most  ready  opportunity  of  displaying  his  talent.  I  therefore 
proposed  to  him  to  undertake  the  office  of  inspector  general, 
which  he  agreed  to  with  the  greatest  cheerfulness,  and  has 
performed  the  duties  of  it  with  a  zeal  and  intelligence  equal  to 
our  wishes.  He  has  two  ranks  of  inspectors  under  him ;  the 
lowest  are  officers  charged  with  the  inspection  of  brigades, 
with  the  title  of  brigade  inspectors;  the  others  superintend 

*  Washington's  Writings,  by  J.  Sparks,  v.,  347. 


130  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

several  of  these.  They  have  written  instructions  relative  to 
their  several  functions,  and  the  maneuvers  they  are  to  practice 
are  illustrated  by  a  company,  which  the  baron  has  taken  to 
train  himself.  The  brigade  inspectors  were  chosen  by  the 
brigadier  and  commanding  officers  of  regiments  in  each  bri- 
gade. The  inspectors  are  Lieutenant  Colonels  Barber,  of 
Jersey,  Brooks,  of  Massachusetts,  Davies,  of  Virginia,  and 
Mr.  Ternant,  a  French  gentleman. 

"Upon  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fleury  in  the 
camp,  as  he  was  unemployed  and  had  exercised  the  office  of 
aid  major  in  France,  the  baron  proposed  to  have  him  em- 
ployed as  an  inspector,  in  which  I  readily  acquiesced,  as  Con- 
gress had  given  him  the  rank  and  pay  of  lieutenant  colonel. 

"  I  should  do  injustice,  if  I  were  to  be  longer  silent  with 
regard  to  the  merits  of  Baron  Steuben.  His  knowledge  of 
his  profession,  added  to  the  zeal  which  he  has  displayed  since 
he  began  upon  the  functions  of  his  office,  leads  me  to  consider 
him  as  an  acquisition  to  the  service,  and  to  recommend  him  to 
the  attention  of  Congress.  His  expectations  with  respect  to 
rank  extend  to  that  of  major  general.  His  finances,  he  in- 
genuously confesses,  will  not  admit  of  his  serving  without  the 
incidental  emoluments,  and  Congress,  I  presume,  from  his 
character  and  their  own  knowledge  of  him,  will,  without  dif- 
ficulty, gratify  him  in  these  particulars. 

"  The  baron  is  sensible  that  our  situation  requires  a  few  va- 
riations, in  the  duties  of  his  office,  from  the  general  practice  in 
Europe,  and  particularly  that  they  must  be  more  comprehen- 
sive, in  which,  as  well  as  in  his  instructions,  he  has  skillfully 
yielded  to  circumstances.  The  success  which  has  hitherto  at- 
tended the  plan,  enables  me  to  request,  with  confidence,  the 
ratification  of  Congress,  and  is,  I  think,  a  pledge  of  the 
establishment  of  a  well  combined  general  system,  which  in- 
surmountable obstacles  have  hitherto  opposed." 

Congress  answered  this  letter,  by  the  following  resolution, 
on  the  5th  of  May,  1778,  viz.:— 


LIFE      OF      STRUBEX,  137 

"  That  Congress  approve  of  General  Washington's  plan  for 
the  institution  of  a  well-organized  inspectorship.  That  Baron 
Steuben  be  appointed  to  the  office  of  inspector  general,  with 
the  rank  and  pay  of  major  general,  his  pay  to  commence  from 
the  time  he  joined  the  army  and  entered  into  service  of  the 
United  States.  That  there  be  two  ranks  of  inspectors  under 
the  direction  of  the  inspector  general;  the  first  to  superintend 
two  or  more  brigades,  and  the  second  to  be  charged  with  the 
inspection  of  only  one  brigade."* 

"The  honor,"  says  Steuben  on  the  16th  of  May,  I778,f  in 
reply,  "I  have  lately  received  at  your  hands,  has  afforded  me 
so  much  the  greater  pleasure,  as  it  was  unsolicited.  The  suc- 
cess my  efforts  have  already  met  with,  adds  not  a  little  to  the 
satisfaction  I  feel  on  this  occasion.  I  shall  endeavor  to  de- 
serve, more  and  more,  the  good  opinion  you  have  entertained 
of  me  in  intrusting  me  with  so  extensive  a  department  as  the 
inspection  of  your  army.  Please,  gentlemen,  to  accept  my 
sincere  thanks  for  the  confidence  you  have  placed  in  me,  and 
the  opportunity  you  have  afforded  me  of  being  useful  to  you." 

On  the  4th  of  May  the  news  of  the  French  alliance  had 
reached  the  camp.  Suddenly  the  public  distress  seemed  to  be 
forgotten  amidst  universal  joy.  Dinners,  toasts,  songs,  feux  de 
joie  and  rejoicings  were  general  throughout  the  army ;  satis- 
faction and  happiness  were  depicted  in  every  countenance, 
and  everybody  entertained  the  most  sanguine  hopes  for  the 
"uture.  These  dreams  and  hopes,  however,  were  a  little  too 
nuch  ahead  of  the  embarrassment  and  difficulties  of  the  pres- 
ent situation.  Supposing  that  immediate  peace  would  be  the 
latural  consequence  of  the  French  alliance,  hundreds  and 
housands  relaxed  their  exertions  for  the  common  good,  and 
thus  endangered  the  success  of  the  Revolution. 

Steuben,  although  not  belonging  to  this  class  of  expectant 
citizens,  nevertheless,  to  some  extent,   shared   their  expecta- 

*  Journals  of  Congress  (Dunlap's  edition),  vol.  iv.,  pp.  2G1  and  262. 

f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


138  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

tions  in  the  probability  of  an  early  conclusion  of  peace.  This 
is  not  surprising  when  it  is  remembered  that  he  had  been  but 
a  short  time  in  America,  and  was,  consequently,  in  some  mea- 
sure, unacquainted  with  the  full  extent  of  the  exasperated 
feelings  which  existed  between  Great  Britain  and  her  revo- 
lutionary colonies.  Anxious  to  engage  in  the  cause  of  his 
adopted  country  for  its  independence,  and  feeling  his  ability  and 
desire  to  exert  his  talents  and  experience,  he  feared  any  inter- 
vention which  could  possibly  have  prevented  him  from  using 
them  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

"  I  congratulate  you" — so  he  writes  on  the  7th  of  May, 
1778,  to  Henry  Laurens,  then  President  of  Congress*— -u  on 
the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  court  of  France, 
as  honorable  as  advantagedus  to  both  powers.  I  esteem  my- 
self extremely  happy  in  being  in  America  at  so  interesting  an 
epoch,  and  feel  a  sensible  pleasure  in  seeing  the  independence 
of  America  established  on  so  solid  a  basis.  I  may  not,  per- 
haps, have  an  opportunity  of  drawing  my  sword  in  your  cause, 
but  no  matter,  be  free  and  happy,  and  I  shall  not  regret  my 
having  undertaken  the  voyage  to  offer  you  my  services." 

"  It  is  my  opinion,"  answers  II.  Laurens,  very  justly,  on 
the  11  th  of  May,  1778,  "that  we  are  not  to  roll  down  a  green 
bank  and  toy  away  the  ensuing  summer.  There  is  blood, 
much  blood  in  our  prospect,  and  in  all  appearance,  in  my  view, 
there  will  be  opportunity  and  incitement  to  unsheath  your 
sword.  Britain  wrill  not  be  hummed  by  a  stroke  of  policy ; 
she  will  be  very  angry,  and  if  she  is  to  fall,  her  fall  will  be 
glorious.  We,  who  know  her,  ought  to  be  prepared.  A  pow- 
erful army  in  our  fields  may,  I  should  say,  will,  be  the  only 
means  of  securing  an  honorable  peace.  If  we  universally 
adopt  and  indulge  the  idea  of  peace,  it  would  bo  presump- 
tuous in  me  to  intimate  to  a  gentleman  of  Baron  Steuben's 
experience,   what  probably  will  be  the  consequence.      I  am 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


LIFE      OF      ST  E  U  1!EN.  139 

desirous  of  banishing  from  the  minds  of  the  people  the  assur- 
ance, even  the  hopes,  of  a  peace  for  the  present  year." 

The  general-in-chief  wished  that  Steuben  should  celebrate 
the  alliance  by  a  great  maneuver  with  the  entire  army,  which 
went  off  marvelously  well.  Major  Generals  Lord  Stirling 
commanded  on  the  right,  Lafayette  on  the  left,  and  Baron 
De  Kalb  on  the  second  line.  A  cannon  shot  announced  the  ad- 
vance of  the  army  in  five  columns,  which,  having  taken  up 
their  position  on  the  heights,  deployed  and  fired  a  feu  de  joie. 
Washington  gave  a  grand  dinner.  Before  the  party  sat  down, 
he  handed  Steuben  the  commission  of  major  general  and  in- 
spector general  of  the  army,  that  Congress  had  just  sent  him.* 
On  the  following  day  he  issued  the  following  general  order : 

"  The  commander-in  chief  takes  great  pleasure  in  acquaint- 
ing the  army  that  its  conduct  yesterday  afforded  him  the 
highest  satisfaction.  The  exactness  and  order  with  which  all 
its  movements  were  formed,  is  a  pleasing  evidence  of  the  prog- 
ress it  has  made  in  military  improvement,  and  of  the  perfec- 
tion to  which  it  may  arrive  by  a  continuance  of  that  laudable 
zeal  which  now  so  happily  prevails.  The  general,  at  the  same 
time,  presents  his  thanks  to  Baron  Steuben,  and  the  gentlemen 
acting  under  him,  for  their  exertions  in  the  duties  of  their  office, 
the  good  effects  of  which  are  already  so  apparent,  and  for  the 
care,  activity  and  propriety  with  which  they  conducted  the 
business  of  yesterday." 

The  act  of  May  5th,  1778,  creating  Steuben  an  American 
major  general,  and  making  his  appointment  as  inspector  gen- 
eral definite,  instead  of  being  approved  of  by  the  superior  offi- 
cers, was  the  signal  for  a  cabal,  at  the  head  of  which  were  three 
major  generals  (Lee,  Lafayette  and  Miffiin),  who,  being  senior 
to  him,  lost  nothing  by  his  appointment,  and  nearly  all  the 
brigadier  generals.  Not  suspecting  any  thing,  Steuben  con- 
tinued to  maneuver  his  battalions,  brigades  and  divisions. 
All  of  a   sudden,   an   order  was  issued  that   major  generals 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 


140  LIFE      OP      STEUEEX. 

should,  in  future,  exercise  their  divisions  themselves,  and  lhat 
brigadiers  should  do  likewise  with  their  brigades,  but  that 
they  should  not  depart  from  the  system  laid  down  by  the 
inspector  general.  Steuben  afterwards  learned  that  the  ma- 
jor generals  complained  of  the  too  great  authority  of  the 
inspector  general  in  being  able  to  call  out  the  brigades  when- 
ever and  however  he  pleased,  and  other  absurdities  of  a  similar 
nature.  Steuben,  mortified  as  he  was  to  find  his  operations 
checked  when  they  were  making  such  progress,  concealed  his 
annoyance  as  wrell  as  he  could,  and  compensated  himself  by 
the  satisfaction  he  experienced  in  visiting  the  camp  twice  a 
day.  He  never  found  a  major  general  exercising  his  division, 
nor  a  brigadier  his  brigade. 

Steuben  referred  to  this  time  five  years  later  in  the  follow- 
ing words:*  "All  the  brigadier  generals  threatened  to  quit 
the  service.  I,  however,  in  no  way  changed  my  conduct;  I 
continually  pursued  the  object  I  had  in  view,  and  flattered 
nobody,  even  not  the  general-in-chief.  The  nature  of  my 
office  in  the  army  obliged  me  to  a  severity  to  which  our 
officers  were  then  little  accustomed,  but  I  was  equally  severe 
towards  my  inferiors,  and  am  so  still  at  present.  And  here 
is  my  greatest  triumph.  The  same  brigadiers  who  opposed 
the  inspectorship,  are  eager  to-day  to  serve  under  my  orders. 
These  same  officers,  whom  I  never  had  flattered,  honor 
me  now  with  the  title  of  friend  and  father.  In  the  mili- 
tary career  the  testimony  of  the  inferiors  is  the  most  honor- 
able; our  subalterns  use  to  be  our  most  severe  judges.  The 
affection  and  estimation  of  my  officers  fill  my  heart  with  the 
greatest  pride  and  satisfaction." 

This  jealousy,  on  the  part  of  the  general  officers,  emana- 
ting from  their  entire  ignorance  of  the  indispensable  neces- 
sity of  military  order  and  subordination,  proved,  in  the 
highest  degree,  detrimental  to  the  progress  of  discipline. 
Just  when  things  were  in  the  best  train,  a  sudden  stop  was 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  141 

put  to  them.  Steuben,  in  the  interest  of  the  army,  defended 
his  system,  but  thought  it  prudent  to  yield  somewhat  rather 
than  endeavor  to  stem  the  torrent  of  prejudice.  The  bad 
consequences  of  this  interruption  and  curtailing  of  the  in- 
spectorship was  a  greater  calamity  for  the  troops  than  the 
loss  of  a  battle.  The  members  of  Congress,  and  those  who 
participated  in  the  suspicions  of  the  general  officers,  injured 
their  own  cause  by  giving  way  to  their  feelings,  which  is  best 
expressed  in  a  letter  of  Alexander  Hamilton  to  William  Duer, 
and  which,  although  written  in  June,  1778,  may  be  inserted  here 
as  an  impartial  illustration  of  the  opposition  made  to  Steuben. 

"I  take  the  liberty,"  says  he,*  "  to  trouble  you  with  a  few 
hints  on  a  matter  of  some  importance.  Baron  Steuben,  who 
will  be  the  bearer  of  this,  waits  on  Congress  to  have  his  office  ar- 
ranged upon  some  decisive  and  permanent  footing.  It  will  not 
be  amiss  to  be  on  your  guard.  The  baron  is  a  gentleman  for 
whom  I  have  a  particular  esteem,  and  whose  zeal,  intelligence, 
and  success,  the  consequence  of  both,  entitle  him  to  the  great- 
est credit.  But  I  am  apprehensive,  with  all  his  good  qualities, 
a  fondness  for  power  and  importance,  natural  to  every  man, 
may  lead  him  to  wish  for  more  extensive  prerogatives  in  his 
department  than  it  will  be  for  the  good  of  the  service  to  grant. 
I  should  be  sorry  to  excite  any  prejudice  against  him  on  this 
account ;  perhaps  I  may  be  mistaken  in  my  conjecture.  The 
caution  I  give  will  do  no  harm  if  I  am  right ;  if  I  am  not,  it 
may  be  useful.  In  either  case,  the  baron  deserves  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  valuable  man,  and  treated  with  all  the  deference 
which  good  policy  will  warrant. 

"  On  the  first  institution  of  this  office,  the  general  allowed 
him  to  exercise  more  ample  powers  than  would  be  proper  for 
a  continuance.  They  were  necessary  in  the  commencement, 
to  put  things  in  a  train  with  a  degree  of  dispatch  which  the 
exigency  of  our  affairs  required  ;  but  it  has  been  necessary  to 
restrain  them,  even  earlier  than  was  intended.  The  novelty 
*  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  i.,  56. 


142  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

of  the  office  excited  questions  about  its  boundaries  ;  the  ex- 
tent of  its  operations  alarmed  the  officers  of  every  rank  for 
their  own  rights.  Their  jealousies  and  discontents  were  ris- 
ing to  a  height  that  threatened  to  overturn  the  whole  plan.  It 
became  necessary  to  apply  a  remedy.  The  general  has  de- 
lineated the  functions  of  the  inspectorship  in  general  orders,  a 
copy  of  which  will  be  sent  to  Congress.  The  plan  is  good,  and 
satisfactory  to  the  army  in  general. 

"  It  may  be  improved,  but  it  will  be  unsafe  to  deviate  es- 
sentially from  it.  It  is,  of  course,  the  general's  intention  that 
whatever  regulations  are  adopted  by  him,  should  undergo 
the  revision  and  receive  the  sanction  of  Congress ;  but  it  is 
indispensable,  in  the  present  state  of  our  army,  that  he  should 
have  the  power,  from  time  to  time,  to  introduce  and  authorize 
the  reformation  necessary  in  our  system.  It  is  a  work  which 
must  be  done  by  occasional  and  gradual  steps,  and  ought  to 
be  intrusted  to  a  person  on  the  spot,  who  is  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  all  our  defects,  and  has  judgment  suffieient  to 
adopt  the  progressive  remedies  they  require.  The  plan  estab- 
lished by  Congress,  on  a  report  of  the  board  of  war  when 
Conway  was  appointed,  appears  to  me  exceptionable  in  many 
respects.  It  makes  the  inspector  independent  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief; confers  powers  which  would  produce  univer- 
sal opposition  in  the  army ;  and,  by  making  the  previous  con- 
currence of  the  board  of  war  requisite  to  the  introduction  of 
every  regulation  which  should  be  found  necessary,  opens  such 
a  continuous  source  of  delay  as  would  defeat  the  usefulness  of 
tho  institution.  Lot  the  commander-in-chief  introduce,  and 
the  legislature  afterward  ratify  or  reject,  as  they  shall  think 
proper.  Perhaps  you  will  not  differ  much  from  me,  when  I 
suppose  that,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  board  of  war,  the  former 
scheme  was  a  freak  of  faction,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  re- 
nounced. 

"  There  is  one  thing  which  the  baron  has  much  at  heart, 
which,  in  good  policy,  he  can  by  no  means  be  indulged  in  :  it 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  148 

is  the  power  of  enforcing  that  part  of  discipline  which  we  un- 
derstand by  subordination,  or  an  obedience  to  orders.  This 
power  can  only  be  properly  lodged  with  the  commander-in- 
chiet,  and  would  inflame  the  wThole  army  if  put  into  other 
hands.  Each  captain  is  vested  with  it  in  his  company  ;  each 
colonel  in  his  regiment ;  each  general  in  his  particular  com- 
mand ;  and  the  commander-in-chief  in  the  whole." 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  that,  under  these  circumstances, 
Steuben  tried  in  vain  to  get  the  duties  of  his  office  settled  on  a 
more  permanent  basis.  It  took  him  more  than  four  years  to 
convince  the  army  and  Congress  of  the  necessity  for  adopting 
his  plans.  For  the  present,  however,  we  have  to  refer  to  the 
correspondence  which  Steuben,  in  regard  to  this  matter,  had 
with  the  board  of  war,  and  which  shows  that  both  corres- 
ponding parties  can  not  be  made  answerable  for  the  delay  in 
putting  their  proposals  in  execution. 

"I  am  sensible,"  wTrites  he,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1778,* 
"  that  my  duty  obliges  me  to  submit  my  operations  to  the 
approbation  of  the  board  of  war.  This  I  should  have  already 
done  had  I  not  looked  upon  the  few  instructions  I  have  given 
as  a  mere  essay  till  it  should  please  the  honorable  Congress  to 
confide  in  me  the  office  of  inspector  general  of  the  army. 

"  The  dispositions  I  have  hitherto  made,  have  been  under 
the  title  of  instructions.  I  am  well  awTare  that  it  is  not  the 
business  of  the  inspector  general  to  make  any  regulations 
without  the  approval  of  the  board  of  war.  These  instruc- 
tions I  presented  to  the  commander-in-chief  before  I  put  them 
in  execution,  and  as  they  were  given  just  as  circumstances 
and  our  present  situation  required,  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should  be  corrected  and  put  in  order,  before  they  are  submit- 
ted to  the  board  of  war,  to  be  regularly  established. 

u  On  my  arrival  at  the  army  the  commander-in-chief  pro- 
posed that  I  should  sketch  out  a  plan  of  the  duties  of  the 
office  of  inspector  general,  to  introduce  uniformity  in  the 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


144:  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

service,  in  the  exercises,  maneuvers,  discipline,  and  police  of 
the  army.  The  regulations  of  the  Prussian,  French  and  En- 
glish armies,  did  not  appear  to  me  exactly  adapted  to  the 
present  circumstances  of  our  army.  It  was,  therefore,  neces- 
sary to  find  out  some  other  means  of  obtaining  the  end  we 
desired.  I  drew  the  subjoined  plan,  which,  having  been  sub- 
mitted to  his  Excellency,  was  approved  of,  and  thought 
worthy  of  being  put  into  execution. 

"  His  Excellency  did  me  the  honor  to  confide  the  direction 
of  it  to  me  as  a  volunteer.  Though  it  was  nearly  thirty  years 
since  I  had  had  any  thing  to  do  with  that  department,  I  haz- 
arded the  enterprise  and  commenced  with  the  infantry. 

"I  had  as  assistants,  William  Davies  of  the  Virginia  troops, 
Colonel  Brooks  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Colonel  Barber  of  New 
Jersey- — all  officers  of  merit — and  Mr.  Ternant,  a  French  gen- 
tleman who  speaks  English  perfectly,  and  who,  in  addition  to 
considerable  military  knowledge,  has  the  greatest  zeal  and 
activity,  and  being  already  settled  in  this  country,  may  be 
regarded  as  a  citizen.  He  has  undertaken  the  department  of 
inspector  as  a  volunteer,  and  has  not  yet  demanded  any  rank, 
though  he  has  merited  it  by  the  pains  he  has  taken  and  the 
progress  of  the  brigades  committed  to  his  care.  Besides  these 
four  adjutants  the  commander-in-chief  made  choice  of  a  field 
officer  from  each  brigade,  as  inspector  of  the  brigade.  Cap- 
tain Walker  of  the  second  New  York  regiment,  who,  besides 
his  knowledge  of  the  French  language,  possesses  every  quality 
of  a  good  officer,  was  attached  to  me  as  an  aid-de-camp. 

"To  the  assistance  of  these  gentlemen  I  owe  the  little  suc- 
cess I  have  had,  and  which  now  begins  to  be  perceptible. 

"  In  sketching  out  the  plan  for  an  inspector  general,  I  fixed 
upon  three  objects : 

"  1st.  Not  to  burthen  the  States  with  a  number  of  officers 
for  that  department  only,  the  appointment  of  whom  would 
have  been  a  great  expense. 

"  2d.  To  employ  as  much  as  possible  American  officers  in 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  145 

that  department,  on  whose  services  the  States  could  always 
depend,  the  majority  of  the  foreigners  being  likely  to  quit  the 
service  either  during  or  after  the  war. 

"  3d.  To  employ  in  that  department  officers  who  had  al- 
ready acquired  a  reputation  in  the  army,  in  whom  the  officers 
and  soldiers  would  have  most  confidence. 

"  The  return  of  the  Marquis  De  Lafayette  obliged  me  to 
add  one  to  the  number  of  inspectors  in  the  person  of  Colonel 
De  Floury,  who  requested  to  be  employed  in  that  department. 
The  merits  of  this  officer  are  well  known  to  the  army.  He 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  English  language  and  has  every 
requisite  quality,  so  that  the  commander-in-chief  appointed 
him  inspector  of  the  corps  under  General  Smallwood,  where 
he  executed  the  instructions  I  have  given  him,  with  the  utmost 
success.  This,  gentlemen,  is  the  footing  on  which  the  estab- 
lishment is  at  present.  The  short  time,  the  situation  of  the 
army  and  a  variety  of  other  circumstances  have  prevented  me 
from  making  greater  progress.  I  have  hitherto  confined  my- 
self to  a  uniform  formation  of  the  troops  (which  I  have  regu- 
lated as  nearly  as  possible  in  conformity  with  the  new  arrange- 
ment of  regiments  which  Congress  has  resolved  to  introduce), 
to  an  easy  marching  exercise,  and  a  few  evolutions  to  enable 
the  officers  to  form  some  idea  of  the  way  to  conduct  their 
corps. 

"  We  have  not  taught  the  soldiers  yet,  however,  the  ele- 
mentary principles,  nor  have  I  ever  instructed  them  in  the 
manual  exercise.  Indeed,  discipline  is  as  yet  scarcely  touched 
upon.  A  uniformity  in  the  service  of  the  guards  is  beginning 
to  show  itself,  but  there  has  not  been  any  review  of  the  troops. 
In  all  these  things  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  circumstances, 
which,  as  I  before  observed,  have  hindered  me  from  proceeding 
further." 

Steuben  says  in  another  memorial,  "  I  began  by  forming 
battalions  of  the  strength  of  about  half  a  regiment,  according 
to  the  new  arrangement,  L  en  of  about  two  hundred  rank  and 


146  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

file,  and  as  the  strength  of  the  regiments  differed  so  consider- 
ably, I  divided  the  brigades  into  battalions,  according  to  their 
numbers,  in  order  to  make  the  corps  nearly  equal  in  strength. 
In  a  word,  I  made  use  of  such  means  as  I  found  at  hand  to 
effect,  as  far  as  I  could,  regularity  in  service,  and  I  can  say 
that  the  arrangements  I  made  pro  tempore  produced  a  good 
*fieet." 

"The  board,"  answered  Richard  Peters,  by  their  order, 
on  the  2d  of  June,  1778,*  "have  had  the  favor  of  your  letters 
and  papers  by  Mr.  Ternant,  with  whom  they  have  had  much 
nnd  very  satisfactory  conversation  on  the  subject  of  the  in- 
spection ;  but  find  that  your  orders  and  letters  give  sufficient 
information  to  show  the  necessity  and  great  utility  of  your  de- 
partment, from  which  the  board  promise  themselves,  on  the 
public  behalf,  the  most  permanent  and  substantial  advantages. 

"Many  of  the  regulations,  however  proper  and  wise,  we 
perceive  are  only  temporary,  and  therefore  can  not  be  inter- 
woven into  a  system.  As  it  requires  much  time  to  perfect  the 
arrangement  in  all  its  parts,  and  to  establish  certain  rules  for 
present  as  wrell  as  future  government,  the  board  desire  you  will 
proceed  as  you  have  begun,  for  the  present,  and  they  have 
drawn  up  a  report  to  Congress,  to  give  weight  to  your  orders 
and  plans  of  discipline ;  and  the  determination  of  Congress 
thereupon  will  be  communicated  to  you  in  its  right  season." 

The  plan  just  alluded  to,  and  the  motives  which  led  to  its 
formation,  read  as  follows  :  \ 

"  The  board  having  received  sundry  letters  from  the  Baron 
JSteuben,  with  accounts  of  his  proceedings  and  copies  of  his 
orders  and  arrangements,  and  having  conversed  with  Mr.  Ter- 
nant, sent  by  the  baron  for  the  purpose  of  giving  further  in- 
formation on  the  subject,  are  happy  to  find  that  the  business 
of  the  inspection  has  produced  much  reformation  in  the  arti- 
cle of  discipline ;  and  as  the  department  has  experimentally 
proved  itself  of  great  importance,  the  board  think  it  well  de- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Tapers,  vol.  i.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  xiii. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  147 

serves  the  immediate  attention  of  Congress,  and  they  have 
submitted  the  following  resolutions  for  consideration,  which 
are  formed  agreeably  to  the  baron's  and  the  opinion  of  the 
board,  resulting  from  the  information  they  have  received  of 
the  matter : 

"  Resolved,  That  there  be  but  one  inspector  general  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States. 

"  That  there  be  an  assistant  inspector  general  in  each  mili- 
tary department  of  these  States  where  an  army  is  stationed, 
and  Congress  shall  judge  the  appointment  necessary. 

"  That  there  be  as  many  inspectors,  and  brigade  inspectors, 
under  the  immediate  orders  of  the  inspector  general,  with  the 
grand  army,  or  in  the  several  departments,  as  the  inspector 
general  and  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the 
United  States,  or  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  respective  de- 
partments for  the  time  being,  shall  deem  necessary ;  that  the 
said  inspectors  shall  be  recommended  to  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  or  the  commanders- 
in-chief  of  the  several  departments  by  the  inspector  general, 
and  if  approved  by  him  and  them  respectively,  their  names 
and  duties  are  to  be  returned  to  the  board  of  war,  who  are 
to  report  the  same  to  Congress.  These  inspectors  to  be  of 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonels  or  majors,  and  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  line,  with  such  exceptions  with  regard  to  foreigners  having 
no  rank  in  the  line,  as  the  commander-in-chief  shall  think 
proper. 

"  That  the  inspector  general,  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  shall  make  such  regulations  for  the  dis- 
cipline and  police  of  the  army,  reporting  the  same  to  the  board 
of  war,  as  the  service  shall  require  from  time  to  time,  until  a 
permanent  system  can  be  established  for  the  inspection  by 
Congress;  and  all  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  are  directed  to  pay  due  obedience  to  the  order* 
of  the  inspector  general  and  assistant  inspectors  general,  on 
matters  of  military  discipline  and  police,  signified  personally  or 


148  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

through  the  several  inspectors  and  brigade  inspectors,  under 
pain  of  being  subject  to  a  trial  by  court  martial,  and  punished 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  offense,  as  a  court  martial  shall 
think  proper. 

"  That  the  inspector  general  shall  have  liberty  to  select  six 
young  gentlemen,  natives  or  residents  in  these  States,  as  vol- 
unteers, who  shall  be  equipped  at  Continental  expense,  as  light 
dragoons,  be  engaged  for  one  year,  and  receive  the  pay  and 
rations  of  ensigns.  These  young  gentlemen  are  to  be  under 
the  command  of  a  skillful  person,  to  be  instructed  how  to  take 
points  of  view,  help  lay  out  a  camp,  to  direct  the  artificers  in 
the  opening  the  way  far  a  column,  to  lead  columns  on  a 
march,  to  reconnoiter  and  sketch  out  the  routes,  to  carry  or- 
ders, and  such  other  proper  service  as  the  inspector  general 
shall  direct. 

"  That  a  secretary  of  inspection,  with  the  pay  of  a  brigade 
major,  be  appointed,  to  be  nominated  by  the  inspector  gen- 
eral, with  the  approbation  of  General  Washington,  to  be  re- 
ported to  Congress  for  the  appointment. 

"That  the  inspector  general  be  authorized  to  appoint  a 
secretary  to  assist  him  in  the  duties  of  his  department,  who 
shall  receive  the  pay,  rations,  and  subsistence  of  a  brigade 
major. 

"That  the  commander-in-chief,  and  the  general  command- 
ing in  each  separate  department,  appoint  as  many  inspectors 
and  brigade  inspectors  as  they  shall  respectively  judge  ne- 
cessary, for  the  aid  of  the  inspector  general  and  assistant  in- 
spectors general,  in  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  their  offices. 

"  That  these  inspectors  and  brigade  inspectors  be  taken 
from  the  line,  with  such  exceptions  in  favor  of  foreigners  as 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  general  commanding  in  each  sep- 
arate department,  shall  judge  proper  to  recommend  to  Con- 
gress, to  appoint  to  the  office  of  inspector  or  brigade  in- 
spector. 

"That  the  inspector  general  draw  up  such  instructions  and 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  149 

regulations  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient  for  ful- 
filling the  duties  of  his  department,  and  present  the  same  to 
the  commander-in-chief,  which  being  approved  of  by  him,  the 
inspector  general  will  then  transmit  them  to  the  board  of 
war,  and  being  by  them  established,  the  inspector  general  is 
then  to  transmit  copies  of  them  to  his  assistants  in  separate 
departments,  which  assistants,  in  performing  the  duties  of  their 
office,  shall  scrupulously  observe  the  instructions  and  regula- 
tions so  established,  and  not  attempt  the  smallest  alteration, 
without  first  communicating  the  same  to  the  inspector  general, 
which  meeting  his  concurrence  and  the  approbation  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  established  by  the  board  of  war, 
shall  then  be  adopted." 

Congress,  however,  did  not  determine  upon  this  plan,  and 
therefore  only  temporary  regulations  could  be  given  by  the 
commander-in-chief.  It  is  Steuben's  great  merit,  and  it  can 
not  be  too  highly  appreciated,  that  he  wisely  left  to  time  and 
service  to  fix  his  station,  and.  that  he  did  not  relax  his  exer- 
tions for  the  benefit  of  the  army.  His  disinterested  course 
forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  somewhat  mean  envy  of  his 
brother  officers.  Hundreds  of  others  perhaps  would  have  abated 
their  zeal  and  energy  for  an  army,  the  officers  of  which  attrib- 
uted his  actions  to  the  lowest  personal  vanity  and  ambition. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  camp;  the  intelligence  of  the 
French  treaty  proved  highly  beneficial  and  encouraging  to  the 
army.  On  the  8th  of  May  a  council  of  war  was  convened,  at 
which,  besides  Major  Generals  Greene,  Gates,  Lord  Stirling, 
Mifflin,  De  Kalb,  Lafayette,  and  Armstrong,  for  the  first  time 
Steuben  was  present,  and  in  which  they  were  requested  by  the 
commander-in-chief  to  decide  what  measures  were  the  best  to 
pursue.  Although  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  coun- 
cil that  it  was  more  advisable  to  remain  on  the  defensive  and 
wait  events,  and  not  attempt  any  offensive  operation  against 
the  enemy,  yet  the  mere  circumstance  of  considering  the  expe- 
diency of  the  offensive,  shows  clearly  that  officers  and  men 


150  LIFE      OP     ST  K  IT  BEN. 

had  regained  confidence  in  themselves,  and  that  they  felt 
strong  enough  to  take  again  the  open  field. 

It  is  not  an  idle  conjecture,  but  a  fact  witnessed  by  impar- 
tial cotemporaries,  that  the  discipline,  order,  and  general  im- 
provements, which  Steuben  introduced  into  the  American 
army,  contributed  chiefly  to  that  reliance  in  a  successful  issue, 
which  they  felt  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  We  have  in 
this  respect  a  highly  creditable  authority  in  Mr.  Page,  who  in  his 
speech,  delivered  on  the  7th  of  May,  1790,  before  the  House 
and  in  favor  of  Steuben's  claim  on  the  United  States,  mentions 
as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  merits  of  Steuben's  discipline, 
that  when  the  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  with  a  detachment  un- 
der his  command,  to  occupy  Barrenhill  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1778,  was  in  danger  of  being  cut  off  on  his  return  to  the  army, 
and  the  commander-in-chief  was  determined  to  support  that 
invaluable  officer,  the  whole  army  was  under  arms  and  ready 
to  march  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  the  signal 
was  first  given.  "The  orderly  manner,"  says  W.  Gordon,* 
"in  which  the  Americans  retreated  on  this  occasion,  and  which 
contributed  much  to  their  escaping,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
improvements  made  in  their  discipline,  owing  greatly  to  the 
Baron  De  Steuben,  the  inspector  general." 

Finally,  Sir  William  Napier,  the  historian  of  the  Peninsu- 
lar war,  and,  like  Wellington,  the  sworn  enemy  of  undisciplined 
mass  fighting,  in  objecting  to  the  loose  guerilla  warfare  of  the 
Spaniards,  instances  the  American  example,  to  prove  that  the 
victories  of  the  revolutionary  war  were  not  fought  by  the  un- 
disciplined militia  of  the  first  campaigns,  but  by  the  disciplined 
battalions  of  Valley  Forge. 

The  next  favorable  consequence  of  the  arrival  of  the  French 
treaty  was  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  by  the  British,  which 
was  no  longer  tenable,  now  that  the  Delaware  was  exposed  to 
a  blockade  at  any  moment,  by  the  arrival  of  a  French  fleet 
when  least  expected.  Some  weeks,  however,  passed,  before 
*  History  of  the  War  of  Independence,  vol.  iii.,  92. 


L  I  F  E     O  F     STK  I*  IJ  E  N  .  1  f>  1 

Clinton  evacuated  the  city,  and  crossing  the  Delaware  on  the 
18th  of  June,  1778,  marched  through  the  State  of  New  Jer 
sey,  in  order  to  make  the  Hudson  and  New  York  the  basb. 
of  the  operations  for  the  ensuing  campaign. 

On  the  same  day  Steuben  wrent  to  York,  in  order  to  get 
the  duties  and  powers  of  his  department  minutely  denned 
and  settled  by  Congress.  Washington  gave  him  a  letter  ta 
the  president,  and  inclosed  a  copy  of  orders  which  were  issued 
on  the  15th  of  June,  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  general  officers^ 
and  to  remove  a  spirit  of  jealousy  which  but  too  apparently 
was  rising  among  them,  "These  contain,"  he  continues,  "  my 
ideas  of  the  principal  duties  of  the  inspector's  office,  and  I  have 
reason  to  think  are  generally  agreeable  to  the  army.  While 
I  am  on  this  subject,  I  must*  do  justice  to  the  baron's  intelli- 
gence, zeal  and  indefatigable  industry,  from  which  wTe  have  ex- 
perienced very  happy  effects."  * 

These  orders  degraded  the  inspector's  office  to  that  of  i 
drill-sergeant,  and  in  their  harmless  shape  were  of  course  found 
satisfactory.     They  prescribe  the  following  rules:! 

aTill  the  duties  of  the  office  of  inspector  general  shall  lx 
denned  and  fixed  by  Congress,  the  commander-in-chief  thinks 
proper  to  establish  the  following  plan  : 

"The  functions  of  it  are  to  comprehend  the  instituting  the 
system  of  rules  and  regulations  for  the  exercise  of  the  troops 
in  the  manual  and  maneuvers  for  their  formation,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  exercising  on  guard  and  on  detachment,  and  for  camj, 
and  garrison  duty,  by  which  is  to  be  understood  whatevei 
relates  to  the  service  of  guards,  the  ordinary  routine  of  dutj 
in  and  the  internal  police  of  camps  and  garrisons,  in  the  exe* 
cution  of  which  rules  and  regulations  the  inspector  general 
and  his  assistants  shall  be  employed  as  hereafter  specified.  All 
rules  and  regulations  shall  first  be  approved  and  authorized  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  either  published  in  general  orders 
or  otherwise  communicated  through  the  adjutant  general,  from 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  v.,  409.        f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Ftiea, 


152  LIPB     O  F      S  T  E  U  REN. 

whom  the  division  and  brigade  inspectors  will  receive  them, 
and  communicate  them  to  the  major  generals  and  brigadiers, 
and  to  their  respective  divisions  and  brigades. 

"  The  major  generals  will  exercise  their  respective  divisions 
according  to  the  rules  and  regulations  so  established  ;  the  brig- 
adiers their  brigades,  the  colonels  their  regiments,  or  in  the 
absence  of  either,  the  officers  present  next  in  command.  The 
division  and  brigade  inspectors  will  assist  in  the  execution, 
under  the  immediate  orders  of  the  major  generals,  brigadiers 
and  colonels  commandant. 

"The  major  generals  shall  make  such  dispositions  as  they 
think  proper  for  grand  maneuvers  in  their  own  divisions,  and 
the  brigadiers  in  their  own  brigades,  conforming  exactly  to 
the  general  principles  of  maneuvers,  which  shall  be  estab- 
lished. 

"  Grand  maneuvers  will  be  occasionally  executed  by  the 
inspector  general  with  particular  brigades,  or  with  detach- 
ments from  the  line,  of  which  previous  notice  will  be  given  in 
general  orders,  and  of  the  corps  which  are  to  perform  them. 

"  The  inspector  general  will  occasionally  attend  the  troops 
while  exercising.  His  directions  relative  to  the  exercise  and 
agreeable  to  the  rules  laid  down,  are  to  be  observed  by  every 
officer  of  inferior  rank  who  may  command.  When  any  new 
maneuver  is  to  be  introduced,  it  is  in  the  first  instance  to  be 
performed  by  the  division  or  brigade  inspector,  after  which 
the  brigadier  or  colonel  will  take  the  command.  Each  division 
inspector  shall  attend  his  major  general  when  he  is  of  the  day, 
and  under  his  directions  assist  the  field  officers  of  the  day  in 
examining  whether  the  duty  of  the  guards  is  performed  accord- 
ing to  rule.  Each  brigade  inspector  shall  likewise  attend  his 
brigadier  when  he  is  of  the  day  for  the  same  purpose. 

"  On  the  daily  parade  of  the  guards  the  inspector  general 
or  the  sub-inspector  of  the  day  is  to  exercise  the  parade  under 
the  orders  of  the  major  general  of  the  day. 

"  The  division  and  brigade  inspectors  are  immediately  to 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  153 

furnish  their  respective  major  and  brigadier  generals  with  all 
the  regulations  which  have  been  heretofore  made." 

Steuben  feigned  not  to  understand  the  bearing  of  these 
orders,  or,  perhaps,  he  did  not  imagine  at  that  time  that  the 
general  officers  wanted  the  removal  of  the  inspector  general 
rather  than  the  increase  of  their  own  labor.  Before  setting 
out  for  York,  he  wrote,  on  the  18th  of  June,  1778,  to  Wash- 
ington :* 

"It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  see  that  your  Excellency 
has  taken  such  a  wise  step  in  my  department,  as  to  engage  the 
general  officers  and  field  officers  of  regiments  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  in  our  daily  exercise.  Nothing  could  be 
more  useful  in  the  present  moment.  I  had  wished,  some  time 
ago,  it  might  soon  be  the  case;  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  I  was 
endeavoring,  with  the  gentlemen  under  me,  to  make  the  offi- 
cers and  soldiers  a  little  more  perfect,  in  order  to  enable  the 
general  officers  to  pass  immediately  to  grand  maneuvers,  and 
save  them  the  trouble  of  descending  to  those  toilsome  and 
fastidious  details  which  we  cheerfully  encountered  from  the 
beginning  for  the  good  of  the  service.  No  pains  will  be  spared 
on  my  part  to  help  on  the  general  officers,  and  I  shall  always 
think  myself  happy  if  I  can  contribute  in  any  maimer  what- 
ever to  the  advancement  of  the  American  army,  and  prove  a 
useful  instrument  in  your  hands.  As  it  will  take  a  few  days 
for  the  general  officers  to  become  acquainted  and  familiar  with 
the  instructions  and  principles  heretofore  approved  of  and  es- 
tablished by  your  Excellency,  and  for  the  officers  and  soldiers 
to  arrive  to  a  tolerable  degree  of  perfection  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  evolutions  and  maneuvers  before  practiced,  I  will 
seize  this  opportunity,  with  your  Excellency's  leave,  to  take 
a  short  journey  to  York,  there  to  settle  some  affairs  with 
my  friend  Mr.  De  Franey,  and  take  my  leave  of  him  before  he 
goes  to  South  Carolina,  as  Congress  has  not  yet  come  to  any 
positive  determination  about  the  department.  If  your  Excel- 
*  Department  of  MS.  State  Papers  in  Washington,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  4G. 


154  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

lency  foresees  that  I  can  be  of  some  use,  I  beg  you  will  give 
me  such  orders  and  directions  about  the  whole  as  you  think 
proper.  I  must  likewise  beseech  your  Excellency  to  give  me 
the  satisfaction  to  let  me  know  whether  you  are  satisfied,  as  I 
am,  with  the  officers  your  Excellency  has  appointed  inspectors 
under  me,  and  whether  you  are  willing  to  have  them  continued 
in  the  exercise  of  that  office.  I  will  likewise  propose  to  your 
Excellency  the  reuniting  the  office  of  brigade  inspector  to  that 
of  brigade  major,  with  the  denominations  of  brigade  majors, 
which  officers  will  be  taken  from  the  line  of  majors,  and  not  as 
it  was  before,  some  being  captains,  others  majors  or  colonels. 
There  is  such  an  analogy  between  both  offices  as  renders  it,  in 
my  opinion,  almost  indispensable  to  join  them  in  one  office, 
were  it  but  to  prevent  difficulties  naturally  arising  between 
two  officers  acting  in  two  different  analogous  departments, 
between  which  there  is  no  certain  line  drawn.  Upon  these 
different  heads  I  beg  your  Excellency's  opinion  and  orders." 

Congress,  however,  left  the  matter  undecided,  and  indefi- 
nitely postponed  its  settlement.  This  was  bad  policy,  and  full 
of  bad  results.  The  army  was  no  longer  drilled,  and,  conse- 
quently, could  not  be  brought  to  that  perfection  which  guaran- 
tied victory,  and  which,  at  less  expense  of  life,  blood,  and 
money,  would  sooner  have  secured  success  to  the  American 
eagle. 


CHAPTER   VIII 


Washington  pursues  the  Enemy. — Steuben  hastens  to  join  the  main  Army.— 
Philadelphia. — Filthy  Condition  of  the  City. — The  German  Quarter. — Popu- 
larity of  the  Kino  of  Prussia. — Operations  of  the  American  Army. — Council 
of  War  at  Princeton. — Steuben  sent  to  Reconnoitre. — II is  Reports. — He  it 

WITH  THE  LKFT  WlNG. — TlIE  PART  HE  TAKES  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  MONMOUTH. — NEAR- 
LY taken  Prisoner. — He  collects  Part  of  the  retreating  Troops  of  Lke. — He 
Places  the  Batteries  of  Lord  Stirling,  and  He-forms  the  Troops  towards 
Englisiitown. — Steuben's  Account  about  the  Duties  performed  by  him,  be- 
fore the  Court  Martial  for  the  Trial  of  Lee.^— Correspondence  between 
Steuben  and  Lee. — Steubrn  challenges  Lee. — The  Latter  declines. — Hamil- 
ton's Opinion. — American  Army  marches  to  Whiteplains. — Steuben  con d lots 
Lee's  Division. — Soon  ordered  to  give  up  his  temporary  Command. — Jealousy 
of  the  Brigadier  Generals. — Steuben  goes  to  Philadelphia.— Difficulty 
with  Colonel  De  La  Neuville. — Steuben  threatens  to  give  in  his  Resigna- 
tion.— Washington's  Opinion  about  the  Foreign  Officers  in  General,  and 
Steuben  in  Particular. — His  Letters  to  Governeur  Morris  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  Congress. — The  Position  of  Foreign  Officers  in  the  American  Army. 
— The  political  Spirit  of  the  last  Century  more  Cosmopolitan  than  Nation- 
al— The  French  Absolutism  Arbiter  of  Europe. — The  standing  Armies  com 
posed  of  all  Nationalities.— Nationality  no  Obstacle  to  Success. — War  the 
regular  Business  of  the  Nobility*. — The  greater  Part  of  Foreign  Noblemen 
a  valuable  acquisition  for  the  united  states,  although  some  bad  charac- 
ters among  them. — tlie  influx  of  foreigners  indispensable  to  success. — 
The  Question  of  Nationalities  subservient  to  the  Principles  of  the  Parties. 
— Nationality  no  Standard  of  a  Man's  Capability  and  Utility'. — The  Foreign 
Officers  here  felt  very  bitterly  the  fortuitous  Circumstances  of  their 
Descent. — Not  stated  what  constituted  the  precise  Attributes  of  a  For- 
eigner.— It  appears  that  whoever  avas  not  Anglo-Saxon  was  a  Foreigner. 


IMMEDIATELY  after  the  news  of  the  evacuation  of  Phila- 
delphia had  reached  the  head-quarters  of  the  army,  Wash- 
ington quitted  Valley  Forge,  crossed  the  Delaware  some  fifteen 
miles  above  the  city  at  Corryel's  ferry,  and  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy. 

Steuben  hastened  from  York  to  join   the  main    army  in 

New  Jersey,  and  passed,  on  his  way,  through  Philadelphia, 

which  did  not  present,  by  any  means,  a  pleasant  appearance. 

"  The  first  observation  I  made  on  entering  Philadelphia," 


150  LIFE     OF     STKUJJEN, 

says  Duponceau,  who  accompanied  Steuben,*  M  was,  that  the 
city  had  been  left  by  the  British  and  Hessians  in  the  most 
filthy  condition.  I  joined  Baron  Steuben  at  the  Slate  House 
in  Second  street,  the  celebrated  boarding  house  so  much 
spoken  of  in  Graydon's  Memoirs.  Such  was  the  filth  of  the 
city  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  drink  a  comfortable  dish 
of  tea  that  evening.  As  fist  as  our  cups  were  filled,  myriads 
of  flies  took  possession  of  them,  and  served  us  as  the  harpies 
did  the  poor  Trojans  in  the  JEneid.  Some  said  they  were 
Hessian  flies,  and  various  other  jokes  were  cracked  on  the  oc- 
casion, for  the  evacuation  of  the  city  had  put  us  all  in  good 
spirits,  and  we  enjoyed  ourselves  very  well,  the  filth  notwith- 
standing. The  next  day  a  house  was  provided  for  us  in  New 
street,  where  we  staid  but  a  few  days,  being  anxious  to  join 
the  army.  That  quarter  of  the  city  was  then  inhabited  almost 
entirely  by  Germans ;  hardly  any  other  language  than  the 
German  was  heard  in  the  streets,  or  seen  on  the  signs  in  front 
of  the  shops,  so  that  Baron  Steuben  fancied  himself  again  in 
his  native  country.  A  great  number  of  the  inns  in  town  and 
country  bore  the  sign  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  was  very 
popular,  particularly  among  the  Germans.  We  Avere,  however, 
not  captivated  with  the  delights  of  Capua;  we  bade  adieu 
to  Philadelphia  and  all  its  German  attractions,  and  joined 
General  Washington's  army  in  New  Jersey." 

The  commander-in-chief  had  sent,  in  the  meanwhile,  Max- 
well's brigade  after  the  enemy,  and  ordered  that  general  to 
cooperate  with  General  Dickinson,  of  the  New  Jersey  militia, 
in  harassing  and  impeding,  as  much  as  possible,  the  march  of 
the  English.  Lee  and  Wayne  were  soon  after  dispatched, 
each  with  a  division  for  the  same  purpose,  into  Jersey,  and 
ordered  to  follow  the  enemy  closely,  but  to  halt  on  the  first 
strong  ground  and  wait  for  the  main  army,  which  was  advanc- 

*  MS.  Letters  of  Peter  8.  Duponceau,  vii.  letter,  dated  Philadelphia,  Juno 
24,  1836. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  157 

ing  with  great  celerity.  Washington,  eagerly  seeking  a  general 
engagement,  reached  Hopewell,  five  miles  from  Princeton,  on 
the  24th  of  June.  Here  he  held  a  council  of  war,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  its  opinion  about  the  best  mode  of  attacking 
the  British.  No  decision,  however,  was  arrived  at.  Six  of 
the  generals  present,  under  the  leadership  of  Lee,  were  of 
opinion  that  a  general  engagement  ought  to  be  avoided,  and 
not  more  than  fifteen  hundred  men  sent  to  hang  on  the  rear 
of  the  enemy,  and  interfere  with  their  operations ;  the  other 
six — and  among  them  Steuben — were  for  a  battle,  should  fa- 
vorable circumstances  present  themselves.  In  consequence  of 
this  diversity  of  opinion,  Washington  took  his  own  course,  and 
fully  aware  of  his  personal  responsibility  to  the  country  and 
the  reputation  of  the  army,  he  decided  to  avail  himself  of  the 
opportunity  to  give  battle  to  the  retreating  British  army.  In 
execution  of  this  plan  he  ordered  a  large  detachment,  first 
under  Lafayette,  and  afterward  under  Lee,  to  reinforee  the 
troops  already  close  to  the  enemy,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking 
their  left  flank. 

Clinton  had  moved  slowly  from  Gloucester  Point,  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Delaware,  to  Haddonfield  and  Mount  Holly, 
and  thence  to  Crosswicks  and  Allentown.  From  this  point 
two  roads  led  to  New  York,  one  via  Brunswick  and  South 
Amboy,  the  other  via  Freehold  and  Sandy  Hook. 

Washington's  movements  were  of  course  dependent  on 
the  route  Clinton  might  select.  In  order  to  ascertain  the 
British  general's  design,  he  sent  Steuben  to  reconnoiter,  a 
service  which  demands  for  its  efficient  fulfillment  the  highest 
order  of  military  capacity,  both  as  a  strategician  and  a  com- 
mander. This  selection  of  Steuben  shows  the  estimation  in 
which  the  commander  in-chief  held  his  character  and  abilities. 

On  the  25th  of  June  Steuben  discovered  that  the  enemy 
was  directing  his  march  from  Allentown  to  Freehold  and 
Sandy  Hook,  and  having  ascertained  this  inrportant  fact,  he 
immediately  made  it  known  to  the  army.     One  of  his   dis- 


158  LIFE     O  P     S  T  K  U  15  B  Si  . 

patches*  to  Brigadier  General  Scott,  dated  Hightstown,  on  the 
25tb  of  June,  1778,  three  o'clock,  p.  m.,  reads  as  follows : 

"  Sir  :  By  intelligence  already  forwarded,  you  are,  no 
doubt,  acquainted  that  the  enemy  have  certainly  taken  the 
direct  road  from  Allentown  to  Monmouth  court-house.  I, 
therefore,  submit  to  your  judgment  whether  it  would  not  be 
best  to  advance  your  corps  as  far  as  this  place,  and  make  no 
doubt  you  will  communicate  the  intelligence  you  receive  to 
the  commanding  officers  of  all  our  advanced  corps." 

Clinton,  however,  did  not  reach  the  neighborhood  of  Mon- 
mouth court-house  until  the  27th  of  June.  Steuben  pursued 
him  closely,  and  communicated  his  observations  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief in  the  following  report  :f 

"About  two  miles  on  the  left  of  the  Court-House, 
Juno  27th,  12  h  o'clock,  p.  m. 

"  Sir  :  We  arrived  here  this  morning,  and  it  being  the 
best  position  we  can  find  to  observe  the  motions  of  the  en- 
emy, have  remained  ;  we  have  advanced  our  parties  so  near 
as  to  fire  a  pistol  at  their  horsemen  while  feeding  their  horses. 
They  now  lay  encamped,  one  line  on  the  main  road  by  the 
court-house,  and  another  line  extended  on  their  left  from  the 
head  of  their  column,  which  is  not  advanced  one  hundred  and 
fifty  paces  beyond  the  court-house,  having  sent  a  man  there  to 
discover  ;  they  have  some  tents  pitched,  and  their  horses  are 
at  pasture,  and  have  not  the  least  appearance  of  moving. 

"  When  we  first  arrived  here,  they  had  a  party  of  infantry 
posted  in  a  wood  on  their  left  and  about  live  hundred  paces 
in  our  front,  from  which  we  could  discover  several  detach- 
ments to  go  to  the  adjacent  houses,  two  of  which  they  have 
burnt,  viz.,  Colonel  Henderson's  and  Mr.  Wickoff 's.  So  soon 
as  they  move,  I  shall  endeavor  to  discover  their  route,  and 
immediately  acquaint  you." 

*  "Washington  MS.  Stato  Papers,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  164.  f  Ibidem. 


LIFE     OP     STECJJEN.  159 

While  thus  reconnoiteriiig,  Steuben  suddenly  heard  a  rust- 
ling in  the  wood,  and  looking  toward  it,  saw  two  of  the 
enemy's  light  horse  emerging.  Steuben  had  just  time  to  dis- 
charge his  pistols  before  he  turned  his  horse  and  leaped  a 
fence,  his  hat  falling  off  as  he  rode.  After  this  narrow  escape, 
he  returned  to  the  camp.  The  horsemen  did  not  fire  at  him, 
but  hallooed  to  him  to  stop.  The  two  aids  had  gone  in  suc- 
cession nearer  the  British  than  Steuben.  These,  he  supposed, 
were  captured,  the  horsemen  having  passed  between  him  and 
them.  While  making  his  report  at  head-quarters,  he  was 
surprised  by  the  entrance  of  Walker  and  his  companion,  and 
exclaimed,  "  How  is  this  ?  I  thought  you  were  taken  prison- 
ers !"  "  O  no,"  said  Walker,  "  they  were  intent  on  the  high 
prize,  and  overlooked  us  !"  "  Have  you  brought  my  hat  ?'■ 
"  O  no,  baron,  we  had  not  time."  After  thebattle,  some  pris- 
oners were  brought  to  head-quarters,  and  one  of  them,  after 
being  examined,  addressing  Steuben,  said,  "  I  believe,  gen- 
eral, I  had  the  honor  of  seeing  you  yesterday,  and  thought 
to  get  a  more  splendid  prize  than  your  hat."  "  Why  did  you 
not  fire  ?"  "  You  were  recognized  by  General  Knyphausen, 
and  our  orders  were  rather  to  take  you,  if  we  could  do  it 
without  harming  you."* 

On  the  next  morning,  the  28th  of  June,  the  memorable 
battle  of  Monmouth  court-house  was  fought.  It  is  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  task  to  give  a  full  description  of  the  events  of  that 
sanguinary  day,  the  particulars  of  which  are  doubtless  familiar 
to  all  our  readers ;  but  it  is  our  duty  to  describe  the  part  taken 
by  Steuben  in  that  battle.  In  all  American  histories,  from  Mar- 
shal down  to  Dawson  (who  gives  the  clearest  account  of  the 
battle),!  Steuben's  name  is  scarcely  mentioned  in  connection 
with  it,  except  for  the  promptness  which  the  soldiers  exhibited 
on  that  occasion,  and  which  proved  the  good  effects  of  his  dis- 

*  Verbal  communication  of  John  W".  Mulligan. 

f  Battles  of  the  United  States  by  Sea  and  Land,  by  Henry  B.  Dawson. 
New  York.  Johnson,  Fry  &  Co.,  1858,  vol.  i..  .185-411. 


160  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN, 

cipline.*  This  may  possibly  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact 
that  he  held  no  regular  command  in  the  line.  We  will,  how- 
ever, endeavor  briefly  to  supply  this  omission. 

Steuben  says  himself,  in  a  letter  already  quoted,  and  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  De  Frank  at  Hechingen,  "  At  the  battle  of 
Monmouth  I  commanded  on  the  left  wing  of  the  first  line,  and 
was  fortunate  enough  to  decide  the  day  to  our  advantage." 
This  statement  is  wholly  consistent  with  the  other  accounts, 
and  is  corroborated  by  the  events  of  the  day. 

The  commander-in-chief  having  been  informed  that  the 
British,  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  were  on  the  point  of  quitting 
their  position  and  descending  into  the  plain  which  lies  between 
the  court-house  and  Middletown,  ordered  General  Lee  to 
move  forward  with  the  advance,  and  attack  the  enemy  with- 
out delay.  At  the  same  time  the  main  body  was  put  in 
motion  towards  Freehold  to  sustain  him.  The  right  wing 
was  commanded  by  Greene,  and  the  left  by  Lord  Stirling. 
Washington  was  with  the  left  wing,  and  Steuben  was  attached 
to  his  staff. 

When  Clinton,  on  his  march  towards  Middletown,  was 
made  aware  of  General  Lee's  advance,  and  of  the  peril  to 
which  the  detachment  under  Knyphausen  (the  baggage  train 
was  under  the  convoy  of  this  general),  was  exposed,  he  quickly 
saw  that  the  only  way  in  which  he  could  extricate  himself,  was 
to  engage  the  advanced  corps  of  the  Americans  who  menaced 
his  rear.  To  effect  this  purpose  he  assumed  the  offensive,  and 
with  the  divisions  commanded  by  himself  and  Cornwallis,  he  re- 
pulsed the  American  vanguard  under  Lee,  and  drove  them  back 
in  disorder.  Washington  came  up  at  this  critical  moment,  and 
seeing  the  confusion  into  which  Lee's  corps  was  thrown,  of 
which  he  had  no  previous  notice,  saw  the  necessity  for  prompt 
and  energetic  action  to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  It 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  restore  order  and  collect  the  re- 
treating troops,  to  re-form  them  in  the  rear  of  his  first  line,  and 

*  Washington  Irvine's  Life  of  Washington,  8vo  edition,  ill.,  430. 


LIFE      OF      STEUliEN,  161 

thus  resist  the  vigorous  attack  of  Clinton  and  Cornwallis.  On 
the  success  of  this  movement  depended  the  fortunes  of  the 
day.  To  execute  a  maneuver  of  such  importance  under  the 
galling  fire  of  the  enemy  required  no  little  coolness  and  decis- 
ion, and  needed  an  officer  accustomed  to  command,  and  in 
whom  the  troops  had  implicit  confidence. 

This  critical  duty  was  intrusted  to  Steuben  on  the  left,  and 
to  Wayne  on  the  right  wing.  The  latter  was  directed  to  form 
his  men,  and  hold  the  enemy  in  check.  Clinton,  reinforced 
by  some  of  Knyphausen's  troops,  attacked  Wayne  at  the  par- 
sonage with  great  spirit.  This  was  the  point  where  the  battle 
was  the  fiercest,  and  where  Wayne  entitled  himself  to  a  high 
meed  of  praise.  The  British  were  finally  repulsed,  and  their 
gallant  leader,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Monckton,  killed. 

The  choice  of  Steuben  to  collect  the  men  on  the  left  wing 
was  equally  fortunate.  So  accustomed  had  the  soldiers  be- 
come to  his  direction,  and  so  firmly  did  they  rely  upon  his 
guidance,  that  they,  although  severely  pressed  by  the  enemy, 
wheeled  into  line  with  as  much  precision  as  on  an  ordinary 
parade,  and  with  the  coolness  and  intrepidity  of  veteran  troops. 
Alexander  Hamilton  was  struck  with  this  change,  and  was 
afterwards  heard  to  say  that  he  had  never  known  or  conceived 
the  value  of  military  discipline  till  that  day.* 

Clinton,  after  his  repulse,  moved  the  main  body  of  his  army 
against  the  left  of  the  American  army  under  Lord  Stirling, 
but  the  batteries  were  so  well  served  that  he  was  glad  to  re- 
treat. It  was  here  that  Steuben  was  first  engaged,  and  from 
his  statement  before  the  court  martial  against  Lee,  which  we 
quote  below,  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  it  was  he  who 
placed  some  of  Stirling's  batteries. 

The  enemy,  after  he  had  been  driven  from  the  left  wing, 

moved  again  towards   the  right  of  the   American  position, 

but   on   account  of  Greene's    energetic   resistance,    and   the 

heavy  fire  of  his  artillery,  commanded  by  the  Chevalier  l)u 

*  William  North's  Biographical  Sketch. 


162  LIFE      OF      STEUREX, 

Plessis  de  Mauduit,  he  was  equally  unsuccessful  itt  that  direc- 
tion. At  this  moment  General  Wayne  advanced  with  a  body 
of  troops,  and  kept  up  so  well  directed  and  severe  a  fire  that 
the  enemy  was  soon  compelled  to  retire  behind  a  defile,  where 
the  first  stand  was  made  in  the  beginning  of  the  action.* 

After  having  performed  his  duties  on  the  left  wing,  Steu- 
ben was  ordered  to  re-form  the  troops  towards  Englishtown. 

"On  the  28th  of  June,"  says  he  in  his  deposition  made  on 
the  18th  of  July,  1778,  before  the  court  martial  for  the  trial 
of  General  Lee,  "after  having  been  reconnoitering,  I  returned 
from  Monmouth,  in  order  to  make  my  report  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, whom  I  found  at  Englishtown.  Having  seen 
that  the  enemy  was  marching,  and  doubting  of  our  being  able 
to  overtake  them,  and  having  seen  nothing  in  my  way  but 
some  militia,  which  followed  at  some  distance,  I  stopped  at  a 
house  in  Englishtown  to  take  some  rest,  where  I  staid  about 
an  hour  and  a  half.  I  afterwards  continued  my  road  to 
meet  the  commander-in-chief.  On  my  way  I  heard  several 
firings  of  cannon,  and  made  the  greatest  haste  to  arrive  near 
the  general,  whom  I  found  on  the  high  ground,  beginning  to 
form  the  troops  as  they  arrived.  It  was  there  that  I  saw 
General  Lee's  division  retreating  in  great  disorder,  followed 
by  the  enemy,  whose  strength  I  conceived  to  be  fifteen  hun- 
dred men  of  infantry,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  horse. 

"As  I  was  employed  in  placing  a  battery,  General  Lee 
passed  by  me,  without  our  speaking  to  one  another.  About 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  after,  the  commander-in-chief  ordered 
me  to  stop  the  retreating  troops  and  form  them  toward  En- 
glishtown. I  sent  some  officers  forward  to  stop  the  men,  and 
I  went  there  myself,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Tern  ant  and  my 
aides-de-camp,  to  form  them.  As  I  passed  through  English- 
town  I  found  General  Lee  on  horseback  before  a  house.  He 
asked  me  where  I  was  going.  I  acquainted  him  with  my  or- 
ders, upon  which  he  said  to  me,  that  he  was  very  glad  of  my 
*  Henry  B,  Dawson,  1.  c,  part  L,  409. 


LTFE     OF     SfBUBIK,  163 

having  taken  that  charge  upon  me,  for  he  was  tired  out.  I 
assembled  part  of  General  Maxwell's  brigade  and  part  of  Gen- 
eral Scott's  detachment,  which  I  formed  behind  the  creek  at 
Englishtown.  General  Maxwell  was  himself  there.  Scarce 
had  the  troops  taken  their  position,  when  General  Paterson 
arrived  with  three  brigades  of  the  second  line  and  desired 
to  know  where  he  was  to  be  stationed.  I  placed  his  three 
brigades  a  little  more  in  the  rear  on  a  high  ground,  and  I 
established  a  battery  on  the  right  wing,  in  front  of  the  second 
brigade  of  General  Smallwood.  The  cannonade  continued 
more  or  less  briskly  till  past  five  o'clock.  Half  an  hour  after 
it  had  ceased,  Colonel  Gemat  arrived  and  brought  me  the  or- 
der from  the  commander-in-chief,  that  the  enemy  was  retreat- 
ing in  confusion,  and  that  I  should,  therefore,  bring  him  a 
reinforcement.  I  ordered  General  Maxwell  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  I  had  placed  behind  the  creek,  and  to 
remain  there  till  further  orders.  I  then  marched  off  with  the 
three  brigades  of  the  second  line.  As  I  passed  through  En- 
glishtown I  met  again  General  Lee,  who  asked  me  where  I  was 
going  ?  I  imparted  him  the  order  I  had  received  from  the 
general-in-chief,  which  I  declared  in  the  very  expressions  of 
Colonel  Gemat,  that  the  enemy  was  retreating  with  confusion. 
Upon  the  word  'confusion,'  he  took  me  up  and  said,  'that 
they  were  only  resting  themselves;  but,'  said  he,  afterward, 
'  I  am  sure  there  is  some  misunderstanding  in  your  being  to 
advance  with  these  troops.'  I  told  him  that  I  had  received 
the  order  from  Mr.  Gemat.  I  ordered,  however,  General  Muh- 
lenberg to  halt,  and  sent  for  Captain  Walker,  my  aid  de-camp, 
who  repeated,  in  presence  of  General  Lee,  the  order  which 
Colonel  Gemat  had  brought  me  ;  '  then,'  said  he,  '  you  are  to 
march,'  and  I  went  on  with  the  troops." 

Having  successfully  executed  his  orders,  Steuben  was  com- 
manded to  proceed  to  the  front,  to  pursue  the  advantage 
which  the  American  forces  had  thus  gained.  Before  this 
movement  could  be  effected,  night  set  in  and  put  a  stop  to 


164  L  TFE      O  F      ST  EC  BEN. 

the  action,  which  it  was  intended  should  be  renewed  on  the 
next  morning.  This,  however,  did  not  take  place,  Clinton 
having  silently  withdrawn  his  forces  during  the  night,  and  pro- 
ceeding, unmolested,  to  Sandy  Hook,  embarked  his  men  for 
New  York. 

Steuben's  evidence  before  the  court  martial,  respecting 
the  situation  of  the  enemy  and  the  column  commanded  by 
General  Lee,  induced  that  gentleman,  in  his  defense,  to  make 
some  remarks,  of  which  Steuben  thought  it  proper  to  ask  an 
immediate  explanation  in  the  following  letter,  dated  Philadel- 
phia, the  2d  of  December,  1778  : 

"  It  has  been  reported  to  me,  sir,  that  in  your  defense  you 
have  allowed  yourself  to  cast  indecent  reflections  on  my  ac- 
count. I  made  haste  to  arrive  at  Philadelphia  to  inquire  into 
the  matter,  and  I  find  the  report  confirmed  by  the  journal  of 
the  court  martial,  which  I  got  possession  of  an  hour  ago,  and 
where  I  read  the  following  paragraph :  '  Of  all  the  very  dis- 
tant spectators,'  etc.  Were  I  now  in  my  own  country,  where 
my  reputation  is  long  ago  established,  I  should  have  put  my- 
self above  your  epigrams  and  would  have  despised  them.  But, 
here  I  am  a  stranger.  You  have  offended  me ;  I  desire  you 
will  give  me  satisfaction. 

"  You  will  choose  the  place,  time  and  arms ;  but  as  I  do 
not  like  to  be  a  distant  or  slow  spectator,  I  desire  to  see  you 
as  near  and  as  soon  as  possible. 

"You  will  explain  to  Captain  Walker,  who  will  deliver  this 
to  you,  if  your  present  situation  will  permit  you  to  bring 
this  affair  to  as  quick  a  conclusion  as  I  wish  it.  I  am,  sir, 
yours,"  etc. 

"  I  believe,"  says  Lee  in  reply,  "  you  have  misunderstood 
the  sense  of  this  article  of  my  defense.  Very  likely  the  sen- 
tence '  very  distant  spectators,'  has  appeared  to  you  a  reflec- 
tion cast  upon  your  courage.  If  such  be  your  opinion,  I  assure 
you  that  I  had  not  the  least  idea  of  it.  I  am  ready  to  acknowl- 
edge it  to  all  the  gentlemen  of  your  acquaintance,  to  all  the 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  1 05 

world  if  you  will.  It  is  true  that  I  found  fault  with  your 
forwardness  (as  I  took  it  to  be)  to  witness  against  me.  I  was 
piqued  and  thought  myself  justifiable  in  making  use  of  the 
phrases  which  you  have  seen  in  print ;  but,  I  repeat  it,  with- 
out the  least  intention  of  intimating  a  reflection  on  your  cour- 
age." * 

Steuben  was  satisfied  with  this  explanation.  "  I  have  read," 
Avrites  Alexander  Hamilton,  from  head-quarters,  on  the  19th  of 
December,  1778,  "your  letter  to  Lee,  with  pleasure.  It  was  con- 
ceived in  terms  which  the  offense  merited  ;  and  if  he  had  any 
feeling,  must  have  been  felt  by  him.  Considering  the  point- 
edness  and  severity  of  your  expressions,  his  answer  was  cer- 
tainly a  very  modest  one,  and  proved  that  he  had  not  a  vio- 
lent appetite  for  so  close  a  tete-a-tete  as  you  seem  disposed  to 
insist  upon.  This  evasion,  if  known  to  the  world,  would  do 
him  very  little  honor." 

Washington  marched  first  to  Brunswick,  and  via  Bergen, 
Paramus  and  Haverstraw,  to  the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
which  he  crossed  at  King's  Ferry,  whereupon  he  established 
his  head-quarters  at  Whiteplains.  On  this  march  from  Bruns- 
wick, as  there  were  but  ^qw  major  generals,  and  almost  the 
wdiole  of  the  brigadiers  were  engaged  at  the  court  martial 
against  Lee,  either  as  members  or  as  witnesses,  Washington 
appointed  Steuben  to  conduct  Lee's  division  to  the  North 
river. 

The  army  arrived  at  Whiteplains  on  the  20th  of  July,  1778, 
whereupon  Washington,  in  the  general  orders  of  the  22d, 
directed  Steuben  to  give  up  his  temporary  command  "  and  to 
resume  his  office  of  inspector  general."  The  commander-in-chief 
changed  the  order  of  battle  and  incorporated  Lee's,  respec- 
tively Steuben's,  division  in  his  own  command.  The  latter  went 
direct  to  Washington  and  expressed  his  entire  dissatisfaction. 
The  general-in-chief  replied  that  he  was  sorry,  but  that  the  case 
was  such  that  all  the  brigadier  generals  would  throw  up  their 
*  Steubeu  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 


U)0  L  I  F  E      O  F      8  T  E  U  B  E  X  . 

commission,  if  Steuben  retained  his  command  ;  and  that  during 
the  entire  march  in  Jersey  the  army  had  been  commanded  by 
foreign  generals,  De  Kalb,  Lafayette,  and  Steuben  ;  that  they 
believed  that  Congress  only  intended  his  commission  to  be 
that  of  inspector  general,  giving  him  the  nominal  rank  of  major 
general,  and  that  eight  brigadiers  having  made  this  declara- 
tion, he  could  find  no  other  means  of  quieting  them.  Steuben 
asked  his  leave  to  go  to  Congress,  demand  an  explanation, 
and  get  the  duties  of  the  inspectorship  settled,  the  more  so  as 
a  Colonel  De  la  Neuville,  who  had  hitherto  acted  as  inspector 
general  of  General  Gates's  army,  denied  any  subordination  to 
Steuben  and  positively  refused  to  serve  under  him.  He,  there- 
fore, thought  it  neither  satisfactory  to  himself  nor  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  army,  to  take  again  upon  himself  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  office  of  inspector  general,  before  it  had  been 
positively  regulated  on  fixed  principles,  and  before  he  knew 
how  far  his  authority  extended.  He  explained  his  views  in 
the  following  letter  to  the  commander-in-chief,  written  at 
Wright  Mills,  on  the  24th  of  July,  1778.* 

"  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  my  letter  of  the  18th  of  June, 
on  the  subject  of  the  inspection,  and  to  your  kind  answer  of  the 
1 8th,  in  which  you  granted  me  permission  to  go  to  York,  and 
desired  me  to  lay  before  Congress  such  a  plan  as  would  be 
most  likely  to  obviate  all  the  difficulties  I  was  acquainted  with, 
and  comprehend  all  the  essential  duties  of  my  office.  The 
final  determination  of  Congress,  which  appeared  to  me  at  that 
time  highly  necessary,  seems  at  present  indispensable,  before 
I  can  resume,  with  satisfaction  to  myself,  and  benefit  to  the 
army,  the  functions  of  my  office.  I  foresee  some  difficulties  in 
the  way,  particularly  with  regard  to  the  inspector  appointed 
by  Congress  to  General  Gates's  army.  That  gentleman  de- 
clared to  me,  not  long  since,  that  he  was  by  no  means  subject 
to  my  orders  or  control  in  the  exercise  of  his  office.  Tn  short, 
as  I  am  willing  to  avoid  every  difficulty,  and  to  labor  unmo- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  167 

lested  for  the  good  of  the  service,  I  beg  your  Excellency  to 
postpone  my  entering  into  the  office  of  inspector  general  until 
Congress  have,  after  your  opinions  and  directions  about  the 
matter,  finally  pronounced." 

It  appears,  however,  that  Steuben  expected  to  be  contin- 
ued in  the  post  which  he  temporarily  tilled,  and  that  he  threat- 
ened to  give  in  his  resignation  if  his  wishes  of  an  actual  com- 
mand in  the  line  should  not  be  granted.  Washington  writes, 
in  this  respect,  to  Governeur  Morris,  on  the  same  day  on 
which  he  received  Steuben's  letter  :* 

"  Baron  Steuben,  I  now  find,  is  also  wanting  to  quit  his 
inspectorship  for  a  command  in  the  line.  This  will  be  pro- 
ductive of  much  discontent  to  the  brigadiers.  In  a  word, 
although  I  think  the  baron  an  excellent  officer,  I  do  most  de- 
voutly wish  that  we  had  not  a  single  foreiguer  among  us,  ex- 
cept the  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  who  acts  upon  very  different 
principles  from  those  which  govern  the  rest." 

The  letter  of  the  commander-in-chief  to  the  president  of 
Congress  is  more  explicit  than  the  foregoing.  "  Baron  Steu- 
ben," says  he,f  "  will  also  be  in  Philadelphia  in  a  day  or  two. 
The  ostensible  cause  for  his  going,  is  to  fix  more  certainly  with 
Congress  his  duties  as  inspector  general,  which  is  necessary. 
However,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  the  real  one  is  to  ob- 
tain an  actual  command  in  the  line  as  a  major  general,  and  he 
may  urge  a  competition  set  up  by  Monsieur  Neuville,  for  the 
inspector's  place  on  this  side  of  the  Hudson,  and  the  denial 
by  him  of  the  baron's  authority,  as  an  argument  to  effect  it, 
and  for  granting  him  the  post,  as  a  means  of  satisfying  both. 
I  regard  and  I  esteem  the  baron  as  an  assiduous,  intelligent 
and  experienced  officer,  but  you  may  rely  on  it,  if  such  is  his 
view,  and  he  should  accomplish  it,  we  shall  have  the  whole 
line  of  brigadiers  in  confusion.  They  have  said  but  little 
about  his  rank  as  major  general,  as  he  has  not  had  an  actual 
command  over  them ;  but  when  we  marched  from  Brunswick, 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  15.  t  Ibidem,  p.  19. 


16&  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

as  there  were  but  few  major  generals,  and  almost  the  whole  of 
the  brigadiers  were  engaged  at  the  court  martial,  either  as 
members  or  witnesses,  I  appointed  him,  pro  tempore,  and  so 
expressed  it  in  orders,  to  conduct  a  wing  to  the  Xorth  river. 
This  measure,  though  founded  in  evident  necessity,  and  not 
designed  to  produce  to  the  brigadiers  the  least  possible  injury, 
excited  great  uneasiness  and  has  been  the  source  of  complaint. 
The  truth  is,  we  have  been  very  unhappy  in  a  variety  of  ap- 
pointments, and  our  own  officers  much  injured.  Their  feel- 
ings, from  this  cause,  have  become  extremely  sensitive,  and 
the  most  delicate  touch  gives  them  pain.  I  write  as  a  friend, 
and  therefore  with  freedom.  The  baron's  services  in  the  line 
he  occupies  can  be  important,  and  the  testimonials  he  has  al- 
ready received  are  honorable.  It  will  also  be  material  to  have 
the  point  of  the  inspector  generalship,  now  in  question  be- 
tween him  and  Monsieur  Neuville,  adjusted.  The  appoint- 
ment of  the  latter,  it  is  said,  calls  him  inspector  general  in  the 
army  commanded  by  General  Gates,  and  under  this,  as  I  am 
informed,  he  denies  any  subordination  to  the  baron,  and  will 
not  know  him  in  his  '  official  capacity:  There  can  be  but  one 
head." 

And  in  another,  letter,  addressed  to  the  president  of  Con- 
gress, which  bears  date  of  the  26th  of  July,  1778,  Washington 
refers  again  to  the  same  object,  as  follows,  viz.  :* 

"  Baron  Steuben  will  have  the  honor  of  delivering  you  this. 
I  am  extremely  sorry  that  this  gentleman's  situation  and  views 
seem  to  have  determined  him  to  quit  the  service,  in  which  he 
has  been  heretofore  and  is  capable  still  of  being  extensively 
useful.  Some  discontents  which  arose  among  the  officers,  on 
account  of  the  powers  with  which  the  office  was  at  first  vested, 
induced  me  to  arrange  the  duties  of  it  upon  a  plan  different 
from  that  on  which  it  began.  The  moving  state  of  the  army 
has,  for  some  time  past,  in  a  great  degree  suspended  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  inspectorship.  When  the  troops  marched  from 
*  Washington's  Writings,  by  Sparks,  vi.,  p.  20. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  109 

Brunswick,  the  scarcity  of  general  officers  occasioned  my  giv- 
ing the  baron  a  temporary  command  of  a  division  during  the 
march.  On  our  arrival  near  our  present  encampment,  I  in- 
tended he  should  relinquish  this  charge  and  resume  his  former 
office,  for  which  purpose  a  general  order  was  accordingly  is- 
sued. But  I  find  that  he  is  entirely  disinclined  to  the  meas- 
ure, and  resolves  not  to  continue  in  the  service  unless  he  can 
hold  an  actual  command  in  the  line. 

"  Justice  concurring  with  inclination  constrains  me  to  tes- 
tify that  the  baron  has,  in  every  instance,  discharged  the  sev- 
eral trusts  reposed  in  him  with  great  zeal  and  ability,  so 
as  to  give  him  the  fullest  title  to  my  esteem  as  a  brave,  inde- 
fatigable, judicious  and  experienced  officer.  I  regret  there 
should  be  a  necessity  that  his  services  should  be  lost  to  the 
army ;  at  the  same  time  I  think  it  my  duty  explicitly  to 
observe  to  Congress  that  his  desire  of  having  an  actual  and 
permanent  command  in  the  line  can  not  be  complied  with 
without  wounding  the  feelings  of  a  number  of  officers  whose 
rank  and  merits  give  them  every  claim  to  attention,  and  that 
the  doing  of  it  would  be  productive  of  much  dissatisfaction 
and  extensive  ill  consequences.  This  does  not  proceed  from 
any  personal  objections  on  the  part  of  those  officers  against 
the  baron  ;  on  the  contrary,  most  of  them  whom  I  heard 
speak  of  hftn,  express  a  high  sense  of  his  military  worth.  It 
proceeds  from  motives  of  another  nature,  which  are  too  ob- 
vious to  need  particular  explanation,  or  may  be  summed  up  in 
this,  that  they  conceive  such  a  step  would  be  injurious  to  their 
essential  rights  and  just  expectations.  That  this  would  be 
their  way  of  thinking  upon  the  subject  I  am  fully  convinced, 
from  the  effect  which  the  temporary  command  given  him, 
even  under  circumstances  so  peculiar  as  those  I  have  men- 
tioned, produced.  The  strongest  symptoms  of  discontent  ap- 
peared upon  the  occasion." 

Alexander  Hamilton,  in  a  letter  of  the  26th  of  July,  1778, 
to  E.  Boudinot,  says  about  the  same  subject : 


170  LI  V  K     OF     STEUBEN. 

"  Baron  Steuben  will  do  me  the  honor  to  deliver  you  this. 
He  waits  upon  Congress  in  a  temper  whieh  I  very  much  regret 
— discontented  with  his  situation  and  almost  resolved  to  quit 
the  service.  You  know  we  have  all  the  best  opinion  of  this 
gentleman's  military  merit,  and  shall,  of  course,  consider  his 
leaving  the  army  as  a  loss  to  it.  Whether  any  expedient  can 
be  adopted  to  reconcile  difficulties  and  retain  him  in  the  ser- 
vice, at  the  same  time  that  no  disgust  is  given  to  others  who 
ought  not  to  be  disgusted,  I  can  not  certainly  determine.  But 
I  should  conceive  it  would  not  be  impossible  to  find  such  an 
expedient.  You  have  no  doubt  heard,  while  you  were  with 
the  army,  of  the  obstacles  thrown  in  his  way  by  many  of  the 
general  officers.,  excited  to  it  by  Lee  and  Mifflin,  as  I  believe, 
in  the  execution  of  the  inspectorship;  and  you  have,  it  is  equally 
probable,  heard  of  the  arrangement  the  general  was  in  a  manner 
obliged  to  adopt  to  silence  the  clamors  which  existed  among 
them,  and  place  the  inspectorate  upon  a  footing  more  conform- 
able to  their  ideas.  The  opposition  the  baron  met  with  in  this 
case  was  one  cause  of  dissatisfaction  to  him.  In  our  march 
from  Brunswick,  as  the  baron  was  unemployed,  and  there  was 
a  great  deficiency  of  general  officers,  notwithstanding  the 
ideas  of  the  army  are  against  giving  a  command  in  the  line 
to  a  person  vested  with  an  office  similar  to  that  held  by  him, 
the  general  ventured  to  give  the  temporary  command  of  a 
division  during  the  march,  in  consequence  of  which  the  com- 
mand of  a  wing  devolved  upon  him.  This  was  a  source  of 
offense  to  many.  When  we  came  near  the  Whiteplains  the 
general  thanked  him,  in  general  orders,  for  his  services,  and 
requested  he  would  resume  the  exercise  of  his  former  office. 
To  this,  on  account  of  the  opposition  he  had  already  met 
with,  and  from  the  original  -plan  for  the  inspectorship  being 
mutilated,  he  discovered  very  great  disinclination,  and  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  preserve  a  command  in  the  line,  and  from 
some  conversation  we  have  had  together,  I  apprehend  lie 
means  to  resign  his  present  appointment  if  he  can  not  have  a 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  171 

command  suited  to  his  rank  annexed  to  it.  You  will  see  by 
the  general's  letters  what  are  his  sentiments  both  with  respect 
to  the  duties  of  the  inspectorship  and  the  baron's  holding  a 
command  in  the  line.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  wish  to  contra- 
vene his  views;  you  may  be  assured  they  can  not  be  essentially 
departed  from  without  very  serious  inconvenience.  But  if 
any  thing  could  be  done,  consistent  with  them,  to  satisfy  the 
baron,  it  would  be  extremely  desirable.  Perhaps  the  principle 
on  which  the  general's  arrangement  is  formed  may  be  pre- 
served, and  at  the  same  time  the  objects  of  the  inspectorship 
enlarged,  so  as  to  render  it  a  more  important  employment. 
Perhaps  a  resolution  of  Congress  giving  the  baron  a  right  to 
be  employed  on  detachments  might,  for  the  present,  compen- 
sate for  the  want  of  a  permanent  command  in  the  line,  and 
might  not- be  disagreeable  to  the  officers.  You  can  sound  him 
on  these  heads.  I  need  not  caution  you  that  this  is  a  matter 
of  great  delicacy  and  importance,  and  that  every  step  taken 
in  it  ought  to  be  well  considered."* 

Just  at  this  period,  when  Steuben  insisted  upon  a  perma- 
nent command,  a  great  jealousy  and  animosity  existed  among 
the  American  officers  against  the  promotion  of  foreigners,  who 
swarmed  around  Congress  and  were  full  of  pretensions,  and 
often  applied  unfair  means  in  order  to  be  appointed  and  pro- 
moted. It  is  to  be  inferred  that  Washington  refers  to  them 
in  the  following  extract  of  the  above-quoted  letter  to  Gouver- 
neur  Morris: — 

"  They  (the  foreign  officers)  may  be  divided,"  says  he 
there,  "  into  three  classes,  namely,  mere  adventurers  without 
recommendation  or  recommended  by  persons,  who  do  not 
know  how  else  to  dispose  of  or  provide  for  them  ;  men  of 
great  ambition,  who  would  sacrifice  every  thing  to  promote 
their  own  personal  glory  ;  or  mere  spies,  who  are  sent  here 
to  obtain  a  thorough  knowledge  of  our  situation  and  circum- 

*  History  of  the  Republic  of  the  Unite, I  States,  as  traced  in  the  writings 
of  A.  Hamilton,  by  John  C.  Hamilton,  New  York,  1S57  ;  i.,  488. 


172  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

stances.,  in  the  execution  of  which,  I  am  persuaded,  some  of 
them  are  faithful  emissaries,  as  I  do  not  believe  a  single  mat- 
ter escapes  unnoticed  or  unadvised  at  a  foreign  court." 

It  is  far  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  above  ex- 
pressions are  the  result  of  momentary  irritation  on  the  part  01 
Washington,  perfectly  justified  perhaps  by  the  immense  crowd 
and  the  often  exaggerated  pretensions  of  the  foreigners,  than 
to  believe  that  they  are  his  positive  opinions  and  final  judg- 
ment. We  think,  however,  that  the  above-quoted  remarks 
of  Washington  exactly  express  the  opinions  which  a  large 
portion  of  the  American  people  entertain  on  this  subject  still, 
at  the  present  time,  and  we  therefore  propose  in  this  place  to 
examine  more  closely  the  position  of  the  foreign  officers  in 
the  American  army. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  influx  of 'foreign  adventurers 
was  productive  of  considerable  inconvenience,  and  that  the 
nuisance  was  felt  by  all  officers.  But  this  is  not  the  point 
which  we  seek  to  demonstrate.  We  desire  to  establish  a  few 
leading  facts  in  order  to  place  the  relations  of  the  foreign  offi- 
cers to  the  revolutionary  army  in  their  true  historical  light. 

In  the  first  place,  the  fact  is  generally  overlooked  in  this 
country  that  the  political  spirit  of  the  last  century  was  much 
more  cosmopolitan  than  national.  States  and  political  forma 
were  constructed,  not  according  to  the  limits  or  differences 
which  nature  intended,  but  thrown  together  or  torn  asunder, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  conqueror,  without  the  least 
regard  to  descent  or  relationship.  The  French  absolutism 
which,  ever  since  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  had  constituted 
itself  the  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  Europe,  was  the  ruling 
spirit  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  same  way  that  it 
caused  cities  and  parks  to  spring  out  of  the  desert  to  prove  its 
power  and  ascendancy  over  nature,  in  the  same  way  did  it 
destroy  every  individual  inclination,  every  independent  char- 
acter, uniting  the  most  discordant  elements  in  one  artificial 
mass.     Politics  and  literature,  art  and  fashions,  taste  and  man- 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  173 

ners,  all  came  from  France  at  that  time,  and  the  influence  of 
France  throughout  Europe  was  all  powerful.  The  rulers  and 
the  ruled,  whether  voluntarily  or  the  reverse,  bowed  before 
her,  and  by  these  means  lost  all  national  limits  and  distinc- 
tions. The  natural  consequence  of  this  system  in  political  life 
was  the  most  complete  submission  to  the  will  of  the  prince. 
It  was  immaterial  who  obeyed,  so  long  as  somebody  obeyed. 
The  standing  armies,  with  their  officers  recruited  from  the 
nobility,  might,  therefore,  be  composed  of  as  diverse  elements 
as  they  pleased,  so  long  as  they  were  always  willing  to  fulfill 
blindly  the  commands  of  the  prince.  The  sovereign  felt  him- 
self so  safe  and  unrestrained  in  the  fullness  of  his  power,  that 
he  did  not  observe,  much  less  fear,  the  variety  of  the  nation- 
alities of  which  his  army  w^as  composed,  and  thus  do  we  find, 
in  almost  every  European  army  of  that  time,  representatives 
of  all  the  most  important  nations.  The  internal  arrangement 
of  the  armies  was  almost  the  same  everywhere.  The  officers 
had  the  same  code  of  honor,  and  had  ingeniously  cultivated 
among  them  the  consciousness  of  that  rank  which  made  them 
feel  at  home  in  every  country  in  Europe.  Germans  served  in 
France,  Frenchmen  in  Germany,  Englishmen  in  Russia,  and 
Italians  in  Sweden,  according  as  circumstances  and  inclination 
led  them.  Lord  Keith,  a  Scotchman,  served  successively  in 
Spain  and  Russia,  and  wras  killed  at  the  battle  of  Hochkirch,  a 
field  marshal  in  the  service  of  Prussia.  Loudon,  an  English- 
man, and  Browne,  an  Irishman,  were  Austrian  field  marshals 
and  commanders  of  armies.  The  famous  Austrian  commander, 
Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  offered  his  services  in  the  first  instance 
to  the  King  of  France.  Count  St.  Germain,  the  French  min- 
ister of  war,  was  for  some  time  a  Danish  general.  Frederick 
the  Great  had  special  agents  to  find  out  the  officers  of  distinc- 
tion who  traveled  through  his  dominions,  and  to  induce  them 
to  enter  his  service.  They  fought  for  honor,  glory  and  profit, 
and  had  precisely  the  same  claim  to  promotion  as  the  native 
officers.     Nationality  was  no  obstacle  to  success.     When  war, 


174  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

which  was  the  regular  business  of  the  nobility,  was  at  an  end 
in  one  country,  they  looked  for  another  where  it  existed,  and 
it  often  happened  that  they  found  themselves  in  arms  against 
their  native  land. 

When,  therefore,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, the  European  officers  applied  to  Congress,  or  its  agents, 
to  obtain  that  active  employment  which  they  could  not  find 
at  home  in  consequence  of  the  comparatively  long  peace,  it 
was  only  the  application  of  a  practice  which  had  been  recog- 
nized in  Europe  during  more  than  an  entire  century.  The 
greater  number  of  them  had  been  trained  on  the  battle-fields 
of  Europe,  and  were  a  valuable  acquisition  for  the  United 
States,  whose  officers,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  were 
lamentably  deficient  in  military  knowledge  and  experience. 
Together  with  these  old,  experienced  officers,  came  a  number 
of  others,  it  is  true,  to  enter  the  service  of  Congress,  who  were 
young  and  inexperienced,  for  the  most  part  enthusiastic  French 
noblemen,  who  were  anxious  to  take  vengeance  on  England 
for  her  wrongs  to  France,  and  to  realize  their  own  somewhat 
confused  aspirations.  Among  these  volunteer  allies,  it  is  natu- 
ral to  suppose  that  there  were  many  bad,  intriguing,  useless, 
and  even  suspicious  individuals ;  but  on  the  whole,  this  influx 
of  foreign  strength  and  talent  was  in  the  last  degree  advan- 
tageous, nay,  indispensable  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution ; 
because  it  not  only  gained  by  this  means  a  number  of  able 
combatants  at  home,  but  support  and  popularity  abroad. 

It  shows  a  great  amount  of  simplicity  to  expect  that  none 
but  superior  men  ought  to  have  come  here,  or  to  have  been 
accepted  by  Congress.  It  betrays  a  complete  ignorance  of 
the  state  of  the  country  at  that  period,  and  of  the  financial 
helplessness  of  Congress,  to  suppose  that  the  expectation  of 
personal  profit  alone  induced  the  European  officers  to  come 
over  here.  It  is  a  gross  injustice  to  make  all  the  foreign  offi- 
cers responsible  for  the  baseness  of  a  Lee,  a  Conway,  or  a 
Xeuville.     What  man  of  calm  judgment  would  deny  the  abil- 


LIF  B      O  F      S  T  E  U  15  E  X  .  175 

ity  and  respectability  of  the  American  officers,  because  an  Ar- 
nold had  risen  to  eminence  among  them,  or  because  a  Stephen 
was  one  of  their  number  ? 

In  politics  and  history,  and  particularly  in  times  of  great 
crises  and  revolutions,  conflicting  contrasts  are  never  strictly 
classified  according  to  the  nations  to  which  they  belong.  Thus, 
we  do  not  find  here  Americans  alone  on  the  side  of  freedom 
and  independence,  nor  foreigners  exclusively  on  the  side  of 
oppression  and  tyranny.  The  question  of  nationalities  in  the 
American  Revolution  was  clearly  subservient  to  the  principles 
of  the  parties.  And  yet  it  but  too  often  happened  that  dis- 
trust of  the  foreign  officers  was  readily  entertained.  Even 
during  the  war,  a  nationality  which  had  no  real  existence, 
which  was  still  to  be  created,  was  taken  as  the  standard  of  a 
man's  utility  and  capability.  People  were  envious  of  that 
which  they  did  not  possess,  which  did  not  exist,  and  for  the 
attainment  of  which  these  very  foreigners  were  assisting  them 
to  do  battle.  The  inward  motive  of  this  envy  was  not  so 
much  the  Anglo-Saxon  exclusiveness  or  self-sufficiency  ;  not  so 
much  the  ambition  of  the  native  officers,  as  a  mistrust  of  their 
own  capability,  which  they  sought  to  silence  by  a  great  outcry 
against  foreigners.  This  was  a  proof  that  the  officers  and  peo- 
ple did  not  feel  themselves  sufficiently  strong  to  master  the 
foreign  element ;  it  is  a  tacit  admission  that  they  were  dis- 
united among  themselves,  and  strong  evidence  that  they  were 
more  convinced  of  their  weakness  than  of  their  strength  ; 
nay,  that  they  did  not  believe  in  the  absolute  success  of  their 
cause. 

It  is  seldom  that  an  army  so  weak  in  itself  has  received 
such  rich  and  powerful  accessions  of  strength,  with  so  small  an 
expenditure  of  time  and  money,  as  the  Continental  army  ; 
and  seldom  have  friends  in  need,  like  these  foreign  officers, 
been  made  to  feel  so  bitterly  the  fortuitous  circumstances  of 
their  descent,  or  to  have  had  it  cast  in  their  faces  as  a  re- 
proach.    Washington,  of  course,  could  not  charge  the  con- 


1*76  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

dition  of  affairs.  He  was  obliged  to  make  the  best  of  circum- 
stances as  they  presented  themselves,  to  advance  the  interests 
of  all.  He  was  obliged,  at  the  worst,  to  decide  against  the 
foreigners,  in  order  to  insure  the  cooperation  of  his  own 
countrymen. 

It  is  nowhere  distinctly  stated  what  constituted  the  pre- 
cise attributes  of  the  foreigners.  It  is,  however,  to  be  inferred, 
indirectly,  that  the  Polanders,  French  and  Germans  were  the 
"  foreigners."  At  all  events,  the  English  do  not  appear  to  be 
counted  among  them.  Gates — who  was  himself  a  foreigner,  as 
an  Englishman — made  the  reproach  to  De  Kalb,  that  he,  being 
a  foreigner,  did  not  properly  understand  the  matter,  i.  e.,  the 
loss  of  the  battle  of  Camden.  Hamilton,  born  in  the  West 
Indies  of  a  Scotch  father,  is  never  spoken  of  as  a  foreigner. 
It  is  to  be  supposed,  therefore,  that  whoever  was  not  Anglo- 
Saxon  wTas  considered  foreign. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Steuben  goes  to  Philadelphia. — Difficulty  with  Neuville  settled. — Governeur 
Morris's  Letter. — New  Plan  for  the  Inspection. — Steuben's  Letter  to  Wash- 
ington relating  to  it. — His  Memorial  to  Congress. — It  contains  two  Ques- 
tions :  1.  What  are  the  Motives  which  induce  the  States  to  establish  an 
Inspection  in  this  Army?— 2.  In  what  Manner  can  this  Inspector  be  estab- 
lished, IN   CONFORMITY  WITH  THE  GENIUS  OF   THE   COUNTRY  AND   THE    CONSTITUTION 

of  the  Army? — The  Adoption  of  Steuben's  Plan  deferred. — He  is  ordered 
to  go  to  Rhode  Island  to  assist  General  Sullivan.— He  comes  too  late.— 
Steuben  remains  at  Washington's  Head-Quarters. — He  exercises  the  Troops. 
— Letters  of  Henry  Laurens,  Richard  Peters,  and  J.  Ternant. — The  Estab- 
lishment of  the  Inspection  on  a  permanent  Basis  still  deferred  by  Con- 
gress.— Steuben  goes  himself  to  Philadelphia. — His  Letter  to  Washington 

REFERS  TO  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DELAY.— WASHINGTON'S  ANSWER.— CONGRESS  FI- 
NALLY REGULATES  THE  INSPECTORSHIP   BY   KeSOLUTION   OF   THE   19tH    OF    FEBRUARY, 

1779. — Steuben's  Opinion  concerning  the  Result  of  the  last  Campaign. 

QTEUBEN  was  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  annoyances 
*~)  and  disadvantages  of  his  situation  ;  but  he  was  sensible 
enough  to  accommodate  himself  to  circumstances.  He  went 
to  Philadelphia,  but  finding  Congress  not  at  all  anxious  to 
comply  with  his  wishes,  he  abandoned  the  idea  of  applying  for 
a  regular  command  in  the  army,  and  contented  himself  with 
preparing  and  laying  before  Congress  a  new  plan  for  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  the  inspectorship. 

The  difficulty  in  regard  to  Neuville  was  easily  settled.  "  I 
feel  the  full  force  of  your  reasoning,"  answered  Gouverneur 
Morris,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1778,  to  Washington.*  "The 
faith  of  Congress  is,  in  some  measure,  plighted  to  Mr.  De  la 
Neuville ;  but  it  is  not  their  interest  that  his  brevet  shall  give 
command.  I  will  take  care  to  get  this  expressed  by  a  particu- 
lar resolution.     The  baron  has  a  claim  from  his  merit  to  be 

*  Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  by  Jared  Sparks.  Boston,  1832.  Vol.  i., 
p.  1U. 

8* 


1  •  O  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

noticed,  but  I  never  will  consent  to  grant  what  I  am  told  lie 
requests,  and  I  think  Congress  will  not.  At  least,  they  will 
not  if  I  can  help  it." 

Congress,  consequently,  adopted  Washington's  opinion, 
that  "  there  can  be  but  one  head,"*  and  pronounced  in  favor 
of  Steuben's  superiority  in  rank.  Neuville,  thus  superseded, 
and  offended  by  this  decision,  sent  in  his  resignation,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  same  year  returned  to  France. 

It  first  appeared  that  Congress  at  last  wras  willing  to  regu- 
late, for  the  benefit  of  the  army,  the  duties  of  that  important 
office,  and  to  comply  with  Steuben's  wishes  in  regard  to  its 
establishment. 

"  Immediately  after  my  arrival  here,"  he  writes  to  Wash- 
ington, in  August,  1778, f  "  Congress  were  pleased  to  appoint 
a  committee  to  hear  my  proposals.  The  committee  consists 
of  General  Reed,  Messrs.  Boudinot  and  Chase,  and  met  for 
the  first  time  on  Saturday,  the  8th  instant.  In  the  meantime, 
I  am  preparing  a  plan  for  the  establishment  of  an  inspection  ; 
and  as  it  is  my  wish,  it  shall  be  my  endeavor,  to  form  it  on 
such  principles  as  may  be  agreeable  to  your  Excellency  and 
the  army  in  general,  and,  at  the  same  time,  comprehend  all  the 
essential  duties  of  the  office.  In  preparing  this  plan,  the  good 
of  the  service  is  my  only  motive  ;  all  personal  views  will  be 
laid  aside,  and  the  duties  of  inspector  general  laid  down  and 
defined,  not  for  myself,  but  for  any  person  Congress  may  think 
proper  to  appoint  to  that  office.  The  plan  being  fixed  and 
approved  by  Congress,  I  shall,  before  it  receives  their  final 
ratification,  insist  on  its  being  sent  to  your  Excellency  for  your 
opinion  thereon ;  and  I  beg  you,  my  dear  general,  that,  lay- 
ing aside  any  partiality  in  my  favor,  you  will  freely  make  any 
observation  on  it  you  may  think  proper." 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary,"  said  Steuben,  in  his  memo- 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  20. 

|  Department  of  State  MS.  Papers,  Washington,  vol.  xxv.,  306. 


LIFE      OF      STEU1IEX.  1*79 

rial  of  the  7th  of  August,  1778,  respecting  the  inspectorship,* 
"that  the  duties  of  the  office  of  an  inspector  general  should  for 
the  future  be  distinctly  defined,  in  doing  which  it  appears 
necessary  to  consider, 

"  1st.  What  are  the  motives  which  induce  the  States  to 
establish  an  inspection  in  the.  army  ? 

"  2d.  In  what  manner  can  this  inspector  be  established,  in 
conformity  with  the  genius  of  the  country  and  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  army  ? 

"  The  absolute  necessity  of  uniformity  in  an  army  is  so 
well  known  that  it  needs  no  argument.  To  effect  this,  a  mili- 
tary code,  however  well  it  might  be  written,  would  not  of  it- 
self be  sufficient.  The  rules  there  laid  down  would  be  dif- 
ferently explained  and  executed.  Disputes  would  arise  and 
uniformity  never  be  established.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that 
some  person  should  be  appointed  to  preside  over  the  execu- 
tion of  these  rules,  and  this  is  the  duty  of  the  inspector  gen- 
eral. 

"  The  commander-in-chief  of  an  army  has  it  not  in  his 
power  to  attend,  in  so  particular  a  manner,  to  the  details  of 
the  different  departments.  The  office  of  inspector  general 
should  be  confided  to  some  intelligent  general  officer,  well 
versed  iu  the  theory  and  practice  of  maneuvering  troops,  the 
composition  and  formation  of  the  different  corps  of  an  army, 
the  customs  of  different  armies,  the  necessary  equipment  of 
the  troops,  all  which  should  come  under  his  notice.  A  regu- 
lar system  in  all  these  matters,  arming,  clothing  and  paying 
the  troops,  is  indispensably  necessary.  One  or  more  regi- 
ments better  clothed  than  the  rest,  will  create  discontent  and 
grumbling,  and  often  cause  a  revolt  in  an  army,  all  which  will 
be  prevented  by  the  appointment  of  an  inspector  general, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  superintend  these  matters. 

"  Discipline  and  order  should  also  be  as  regular  and  equally 
uniform  in  an  army  as  exercise  and  maneuvers.  A  single  reg- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Paper.s,  TItica. 


180  LIFE      OP      STEUBEN. 

iment,  relaxed  in  discipline,  will  cause  disorder  in  a  whole 
army.  To  prevent  this  is  also  the  duty  of  the  inspector  gen- 
eral. 

"  Uniformity  in  the  camp  duties  and  in  the  formation  of 
the  troops,  are  things  not  only  necessary  but  indispensable, 
and  this  uniformity  should  be  introduced  and  maintained  by 
the  inspector  general. 

u  It  remains  then  to  be  ascertained  in  what  manner  this 
inspection  shall  be  established.  Neither  the  French  nor  the 
Prussian  arrangements  can  be  adopted  without  alteration,  in 
a  free  State  where  the  troops  of  the  different  provinces  con- 
sider themselves  as  allies,  united  to  defend  the  same  cause.  In 
Prussia  the  inspector  general  is  properly  the  king's  commis- 
sary. He  receives  all  his  orders  from  the  king,  and  is  only  ac- 
countable to  him  for  his  actions.  In  France  he  is  the  commis- 
sary of  the  minister  at  war,  whose  orders  he  receives  and  sees 
executed  ;  but  in  America,  where  we  have  neither  king  nor 
minister,  the  question  is,  of  whom  the  inspector  general  is  to 
receive  his  orders,  and  to  whom  he  is  answerable  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  same. 

"  Congress  have  established  a  board  of  war,  and  I  imag- 
ine that  the  inspector  general  should  be  under  the  immediate 
control  of  that  board,  wTho  are  themselves  answTerable  to  Con- 
gress. The  inspector  general  should  then  be  answerable  to 
the  board  of  war,  and  each  colonel  to  the  inspector  general. 
In  that  manner  he  will  be  the  commissary  of  the  States,  and 
as  such,  every  regiment,  corps  or  particular  officer  is  obliged 
to  give  him  an  account  of  every  thing  that  pertains  to  his  de- 
partment. 

"It  may  be  asked,  how  far  the  inspector  general  is  to 
be  subject  to  the  commander-in-chief.  I  answer,  as  far  as 
the  general  of  artillery,  the  quarter-master  general,  or  any 
other  general  in  the  army,  and  that,  although  he  were  au- 
thorized by  the  board  of  war,  he  should  not  have  it  in  his 
power  to   make   the   slightest   alteration,   without   the   con- 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  181 

sent  of  the  commander-in-chief;  and  in  case  he  has  any  ob- 
jection to  what  the  inspector  general  wants  to  alter  or  to  in- 
troduce, the  execution  of  it  mast  be  suspended  until  further 
order  from  Congress.  But  no  person  in  the  army,  besides  the 
commander-in-chief,  has  a  right  to  give  orders  to  the  inspector 
general  relative  to  his  department.  The  military  rank  in  the 
army  must  not  be  confounded  with  his  rank  of  inspector. 

"  It  is  desirable,  for  several  reasons,  that  no  foreigner 
should  ever  be  intrusted  with  the  post  of  inspector  general, 
but  that  employment  be  always  in  the  hands  of  a  general  offi- 
cer who  is  a  native  of  this  country.  But  if  Congress  think  fit 
to  intrust  it  to  a  foreigner,  I  propose  that  at  the  same  time 
a  Continental  brigadier  be  joined  with  him  in  the  office,  who, 
acting  in  conjunction  with  him,  may  acquaint  himself  with  the 
arrangements  and  duties  of  that  department,  and  one  day  be- 
come himself  the  inspector  general. 

"  In  the  arrangement  which  I  made,  pro  tempore,  there 
were  only  four  lieutenant  colonels  appointed  as  sub-inspectors. 
I  propose  to  preserve  the  same  number  for  the  infantry,  but 
instead  of  being  distributed  among  the  several  divisions  of  the 
army,  I  wish  that  they  should  have  the  inspection  of  the 
troops  of  the  different  States,  i.  e.,  that  each  colonel  inspector 
might  have  the  troops  of  three  or  four  States  under  his  in- 
spection. A  colonel  would  also  be  necessary  for  the  cav- 
alry, and  another  for  the  light  troops,  all  receiving  their  in- 
structions, relative  to  the  discipline,  order  and  exercise,  from 
the  inspector  general. 

"  The  appointment  of  the  brigade  inspectors  has  not  quite 
answered  my  wishes.  I  requested  a  major  out  of  each  bri- 
gade, instead  of  which  I  was  given  a  great  number  of  captains, 
some  majors,  and  even  some  colonels,  to  fill  that  post;  how- 
ever, all  of  them  officers  of  merit,  and  to  whom,  in  a  great 
measure,  is  due  the  progress  our  army  has  already  made  in 
maneuvering.  I  think  it,  however,  more  proper  that  this 
function  should  be  joined  to  that  of  the  majors  of  brigade,  if 


1 82  L  I  F  E     0  F     S  T  B  D  B  B  X  . 

Congress  think  fit  to  do  with  regard  to  the  latter  what 
Marshal  Broglio  did  in  the  French  army  last  war,  namely, 
that  one  of  the  senior  majors  be  chosen  from  each  brigade 
under  the  appellation  of  majors  of  brigade.  His  business  will 
be  to  collect  the  returns,  lists,  etc.,  of  all  the  battalions  of  his 
brigade.  He  is  to  keep  the  details  and  take  care  of  the  for- 
mation of  all  the  guards,  detachments,  etc. ;  all  the  orders  to 
be  directed  to  him,  and  he  is  to  impart  them  to  the  brigadiers 
and  colonels,  and  by  the  adjutant  to  all  the  officers  of  his 
brigade.  He  is  to  inspect  the  police  of  the  camp,  the  disci- 
pline, and  the  order  of  the  service ;  he  is  to  be  always  in 
camp  and  have  his  orders  executed  through  the  battalion 
adjutants;  he  is  to  do  no  duty  in  the  line  except  going  with 
detachments  against  the  enemy. 

"But  then  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  brigadiers  to  have 
an  aid-de-camp  with  the  rank  and  pay  of  first  lieutenant,  to  be 
allowed  two  horses  and  a  servant,  and  consequently  entitled 
to  two  rations  for  man  and  horse,  and  to  be  under  the  im- 
mediate orders  of  his  brigadier  general. 

"The  rank  of  the  inspector  general  and  of  the  officer 
joined  with  him  in  the  office,  should  always  be  determined  by 
Congress.  I  think  that  the  more  his  functions  are  important, 
the  more  he  should  be  entitled  to  a  respectable  rank.  In 
France  and  Prussia  the  inspectors  general  are  senior  lieutenant 
generals,  who,  besides  their  authority  as  inspectors,  take,  in 
their  turn,  the  command,  and  enjoy  the  prerogatives  to  which 
their  rank  entitles  them,  and  I  doubt  whether  any  officer  in  the 
service  would  accept  of  the  office  of  inspector  general,  if  that 
office  deprived  him  of  his  command  in  the  line,  and  of  ever 
having  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself  against  the 
enemy. 

"The  colonels  appointed  as  sub-inspectors  preserve  their 
command  and  rank  in  the  line,  but  when  they  are  acting  as 
inspectors  they  are  not  to  be  considered  according  to  the  rank 
they  hold,  but  to  the  functions  they  are  performing  as  inspect- 


LIFE      OF      STEUBE  N  .  ]  83 

ors  .appointed  by  the  States,  and  authorized  to  make  all  the  in- 
quiries relating  to  their  department.  Thus  no  colonel  is  to 
make  any  objection  to  his  regiment  being  inspected  by  a 
colonel  younger  than  himself;  it  is  not  the  colonel  but  the  in- 
spector who  is  performing  that  duty.  In  the  performance  of 
his  office  the  inspector  is  the  representative  of  the  States,  and 
is  to  be  respected  as  such  without  any  regard  to  his  regular 
rank  in  the  army.  In  France,  the  colonels  of  regiments  are 
obliged  to  have  their  regiments  inspected,  not  only  by  the 
inspector  general,  but  by  the  commissaries  of  war,  who  have 
not  even  a  military  rank  in  the  army.  In  Prussia,  whole 
garrisons  are  inspected  by  inferior  officers  when  acting  as 
inspectors. 

"  No  inspector  is  to  inspect  his  own  regiment. 

"  The  department  of  the  inspector  being  thus  established, 
approved  of  and  authorized  by  Congress,  it  remains  to  be 
examined  in  what  manner  the  inspector  general,  the  general 
officer  joined  with  him  in  the  office,  and  the  colonel  inspectors 
are  to  exercise  their  functions.  Congress  has  already  issued 
several  resolutions  which  may  serve  as  instructions  to  the  in- 
spector general ;  but  to  those  instructions,  and  the  duties  of 
the  inspectors  in  foreign  service,  our  circumstances  require 
several  things  to  be  added  which  are  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance : — 

"  1st.  In  foreign  services  the  regiments  are  already  formed, 
there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  keep  them  complete,  while  in  our 
army,  on  the  contrary,  the  greatest  part  are  not  yet  formed, 
or  rather  have  not  yet  been  completed. 

"  2d.  In  foreign  services  there  is  an  established  military 
code,  and  it  is  by  that  code  the  inspector  judges  whether  the 
troops  are  in  order  or  not,  while  in  our  service  that  code  is  yet 
to  be  written,  and  it  is  the  inspector  general's  duty  to  com- 
pose it  and  submit  it  to  Congress  to  have  it  approved  and 
authorized. 

"3d.  In  foreign  services  the  inspector  general  is  to  keep 


184  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

the  troops  complete  in  arms  and  accouterments,  while  in  our 
army  several  regiments  are  not  yet  completely  equipped. 

"Among  these  important  objects  the  formation  of  regi- 
ments appears  to  me  the  most  essential.  Some  of  our  regi- 
ments are  almost  complete,  some  want  half  their  men,  and 
some  have  scarce  an  eighth  of  their  complement,  which  is  the 
cause  of  the  greatest  disorder  in  the  ad  Ministration,  as  well  as 
in  the  maneuvers  and  service  in  general.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  that  the  inspector  general  begin  by  making  an 
exact  review  of  every  regiment  in  particular,  and  to  make  a 
report  of  his  inspection,  not  only  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
but  to  the  board  of  war.  In  that  review  the  inspector  gen- 
eral is  to  examine,  1st,  the  number  and  condition  of  the  men 
of  each  regiment ;  2d,  of  the  arms;  3d,  of  the  clothing,  and 
4th,  of  the  tents  and  other  camp  equipage.  Each  colonel  is 
to  be  obliged  to  give  the  inspector  general  exact  returns  per- 
taining to  all  these  matters.  He  afterwards  sends  his  report 
to  the  board  of  war,  and  at  the  same  time  advises  the  several 
departments,  that  the  regiments  may  be  provided  with  what- 
ever they  may  require. 

"  I  have  already  hinted  that  it  would  be  convenient  to  ap- 
point the  colonels  inspectors  to  the  troops  of  the  several  States, 
and  I  think  it  would  also  be  convenient  that  they  should  keep 
up  a  correspondence  with  the  Legislature  of  the  State  to  whose 
troops  they  are  attached,  as  much  for  the  purpose  of  recruit- 
ing the  regiments  as  to  provide  them  with  the  necessary  arms 
and  equipment. 

"At  the  first  review,  the  inspector  general  must  take  exact 
information  as  to  the  effective  men,  not  only  of  those  present 
with  the  regiment,  but  of  all  the  rank  and  file  who  are  not 
otherwise  employed  but  in  the  service  of  the  guards  and  the 
line.  He  must  examine  every  man  singly,  in  order  to  know 
whether  he  has  received  accurate  returns  of  the  regiment,  and 
he  must  examine  the  arms,  accouterments  and  ammunition  of 
each  soldier.     He  must  himself  draw  up  the  form  for  all  the 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  185 

returns  he  requires,  and  when  he  finds  fault  in  the  administra- 
tion, discipline,  or  any  other  branch  of  the  service,  he  must 
notify  the  commander-in-chief  of  his  complaint,  and  propose  a 
way  to  remedy  it. 

"  The  inspector  general  is  to  receive  a  collection  of  all  the 
military  regulations  hitherto  given,  to  add  to  them  those  he 
judges  necessary,  and  arrange  them  in  order,  after  which  he 
is  to  submit  them  to  the  judgment  and  approbation  of  the 
board  of  war,  or  other  persons  appointed  by  Congress,  and 
then  they  should  be  printed  as  a  military  code.  The  inspector 
general,  and  the  officers  under  his  orders,  are  to  edit  that  work, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  campaign,  part  of  the  regu- 
lations are  to  be  printed  and  distributed  among  the  officers  ot 
the  army. 

"  The  exercise  and  maneuvering  of  the  troops  will  always 
be  under  the  direction  of  the  inspector  general ;  all  the  ma- 
neuvers will  be  introduced  by  him,  and  the  old  ones  executed 
according  to  the  established  principles.  In  order  to  maintain 
so  necessary  a  uniformity,  the  colonels  inspectors  will  cause 
every  day  a  brigade  to  exercise  in  their  presence  ;  they  will 
have  two  or  more  battalions  formed  out  of  it.  They  will  di- 
rect the  exercise  or  maneuver,  and  have  it  executed  by  the 
colonels  of  the  regiments,  though  those  colonels  might  be 
senior  to  them  in  the  army.  It  is  under  these  circumstances 
particularly,  that  the  colonels  inspectors  must  be  respected  as 
inspectors,  not  as  colonels.  When  the  inspector  is  not  pres- 
ent, the  brigadier,  or,  in  his  absence,  the  senior  colonel  is  to 
order  the  exercise  and  the  maneuvers,  which  they  are  at 
liberty  to  vary,  as  the  circumstances  and  the  ground  require, 
without,  however,  changing  any  thing  in  the  principles  of  the 
execution.  When  a  maneuver  is  to  be  performed  with  several 
brigades,  the  inspector  general  is  to  present  his  plans  to  the 
commander-in-chief.  The  brigades  and  the  battalions  that  are 
to  execute  the  maneuver,  are  to  be  appointed  in  general  or- 
ders, and  are  to  receive  their  instructions  from  the  inspector 
general. 


180  LIFH     OF     STEUBEX. 

"  In  camp  or  garrison,  where  there  is  a  parade  of  the 
guards,  the  inspector  is  to  cause  his  troops  to  perform  two 
evolutions  ;  the  adjutant  general  or  town  major  must  for  that 
purpose  assemble  the  troops  before  guard-mounting,  and  then 
the  inspector  orders  the  exercise.  But  as  soon  as  the  drums 
beat  'the  general,'  the  inspector  leaves  the  command  to  the 
general  of  the  day,  in  camp,  and  in  a  garrison,  to  the  com- 
mandant of  the  place. 

"  Such,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  the  functions  of  an  in- 
spector general  in  America,  which  I  submit  to  the  judgment 
of  the  honorable  Congress,  by  whose  decisions  I  shall  always 
glory  to  abide." 

But  the  final  ratification  of  Steuben's  plan  was  a^ain  post- 
poned ;  the  matter  was  dropped,  and  not  taken  up  again  until 
February,  1779. 

Steuben  had  only  been  two  weeks  in  Philadelphia,  when 
the  news  arrived  that  the  French  fleet,  under  Count  d'Estaing, 
had  been  forced  to  abandon  the  project  against  Rhode  Island, 
and  that  General  Sullivan's  position  there  was  critical.  On 
the  evening  of  the  28th  of  August  that  this  intelligence  reached 
Philadelphia,  Congress  resolved,*  "  that  Baron  Steuben  be 
requested  forthwith  to  repair  to  Rhode  Island,  and  give  his 
advice  and  assistance  to  Major  General  Sullivan  and  the  army 
under  his  command."  Steuben  started  before  daybreak  on 
the  following  day. 

However  flattering  this  resolution  of  Congress  may  ap- 
pear as  an  acknowledgment  of  Steuben's  military  talents,  it 
was,  in  fact,  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of  his  pressing  demands 
for  the  present,  and  to  evade  a  final  decision  in  regard  to  the 
inspectorship.  At  all  events,  its  passage  was  too  late,  as,  on 
arriving  at  Whiteplains  on  the  third  day,  General  Washing- 
ton informed  Steuben  that  General  Sullivan  had  already  ef- 
fected his  retreat,  and  that  he  was  safe  at  Providence. 

Washington  approved  of  Steuben's  not  going  further  unless 
*  Journals  of  Congress,  C.  Dnnlap's  edition,  iv..  502. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  187 

the  enemy  should  make  some  enterprise  against  Sullivan's  corps. 
As  this  did  not  happen,  Steuben  sent  the  resolution  of  Congress 
to  General  Sullivan,  with  an  account  of  the  reasons  which  pre- 
vented him  at  this  time  from  being  under  his  orders.  In  the 
latter  part  of  September  the  army  retired  from  Whiteplains 
to  Fredericksburg,  and  thence  to  their  winter  quarters  in  the 
Highlands. 

In  pursuance  of  the  desire  of  the  commander-in-chief  he 
there  began  to  exercise  the  troops,  and  directed  his  sub-inspect- 
ors to  maneuver  with  the  brigades  upon  the  principles  and 
regulations  he  had  prescribed.  While  discharging  this  duty 
he  waited  at  head-quarters  until  Congress  should  adopt  the 
plan  he  had  drawn  for  the  establishment  of  the  inspection. 
Some  prominent  members,  and  even  its  president,  took  a  great 
interest  in  bringing  it  forward  ;  but  the  general  business  of 
Congress,  which  was  deemed  more  pressing  and  important, 
caused  its  consideration  to  be  postponed  from  day  to  day. 

"  I  think  it  fortunate  for  yourself,"  writes  Henry  Laurens, 
president  of  Congress,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1778,  to 
Steuben,*  "  that  you  did  not  proceed  to  Rhode  Island  ;  it 
wrould  have  been  on  every  account  a  disagreeable  embassy. 
The  commander-in-chief  having  returned  to  Congress  the  re- 
port of  the  committee  on  the  inspectorate  with  his  Excellen- 
cy's remarks  and  observations,  the  whole  is  recommitted  and 
will  probably  be  soon  reported  on ;  but  the  House  is  so  over- 
charged with  business  as  renders  it  impossible  even  to  guess 
at  a  time  when  it  will  be  taken  under  consideration  and  con- 
cluded." 

"  I  hope  to  hear  of  your  being" — such  are  the  words  of 
Richard  Peters,  in  a  letter  to  Steuben,  dated  the  16th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1778f — "more  agreeably  circumstanced  than  formerly  as  to 
your  business  at  camp.  It  is  an  obvious  matter  that  our  army 
are  in  want  of  discipline,  although  their  improvements  in  this 
respect  are  amazing ;  and  as  the  men  are  docile  and  capable, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papera,  vol.  i.  \  Ibidem. 


188  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

it  is  a  pity  that  any  obstacles  should  be  thrown  in  the  way  of 
their  receiving  instruction.  While  you  are  here,  I  could  wish 
to  make  every  use  of  your  willingness  to  serve  this  country, 
therefore,  I  wish  to  see  the  inspection  in  its  full  vigor,  for  the 
greater  our  discipline,  the  sooner  we  shall  discomfit  our  ene- 
mies and  be  at  peace,  which  to  me  is  the  most  desirable  of  all 
objects,  except  my  liberty  and  the  independence  of  my  coun- 
try. When  you  have  ceased  to  be  serviceable  as  a  soldier, 
you  shall  sit  down  w7ith  us  and  enjoy  the  pleasing  calm  which 
will  succeed  the  present  tempest.  Apropos,  we  Will  and  must 
take  possession  of  the  Bermudas,  and  you  shall  be  governor." 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Ternant,  who,  on  the  25th  of  Septem- 
ber, having  been  appointed  inspector  of  the  troops  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  spent  the  end  of  that  month  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  had  daily  intercourse  with  the  board  of  war,  posi- 
tively expected  the  ultimate  approbation  and  acceptance  of 
Steuben's  plan.  "  Although  it  has  not  yet  received  the  sanction 
of  Congress,"  says  he,*  "  it  nevertheless  attracts  and  fixes  the 
attention  of  that  body,  and  I  dare  assure  you,  that  in  spite  of 
all  opposition  the  final  establishment  will  be  carried,  the  more 
so  as  Congress  just  received  the  plan  revised  by  Washington." 

Congress,  however,  could  not  arrive  at  a  resolution,  and 
wasting  month  after  month,  referred  the  whole  question  to  a 
committee.  Steuben  made  the  best  of  this  bad  bargain,  and 
on  the  4th  of  October,  1778,  wrote  from  Quakerhill  to  Pres- 
ident Reed,  chairman  of  that  committee  :f 

"  Congress  could  not  have  intrusted  the  plan  I  have  pro- 
posed, into  better  hands  than  those  of  the  committee  of  ar- 
rangements, especially  when  presided  over  by  a  gentleman  of 
your  merit,  and  for  whom  I  entertain  the  highest  esteem.  It  is 
an  unhappy  circumstance  that  this  committee  being  so  dispersed 
causes  a  delay  in  an  arrangement  which  I  thought  very  neces- 
sary for  the  good  of  our  service,  and  in  which  is  to  be  found 
the  basis  of  all  the  arrangements  that  are  to  be  made — I  mean 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i.  f  Ibidem,  vol.  iv. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  189 

the  formation  of  our  regiments  to  an  equal  number.  When 
this  is  neglected,  I  do  not  see  the  possibility  of  ever  establish- 
ing good  order,  whether  in  administration,  service,  exercise, 
or  maneuvers  of  the  troops.  Being  of  no  use  at  the  army, 
my  presence  would  perhaps  be  more  necessary  near  the  per- 
sons appointed  for  the  arrangements  I  wish  might  be  settled  ; 
but  as  experience  teaches  mo  that  offered  services  do  not 
always  prove  acceptable,  I  shall  wait  with  a  respectful  silence 
for  the  orders  of  Congress,  which  are  to  regulate  all  my  ac- 
tions." 

Notwithstanding,  nothing  was  done  during  October  and 
November ;  and  when  the  army  retired  into  winter  quarters, 
Steuben  went  himself  to  Philadelphia.  Obliged  to  give  his 
instructions  in  an  extempore  manner,  and  even  to  adapt  the 
plan  of  his  operations  to  the  circumstances  rather  than  to  his 
particular  system,  he  proposed  to  put  in  order  those  instruc- 
tions he  had  already  perfected,  to  add  those  which  he  thought 
indispensably  necessary,  and  to  write,  under  the  direction  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  a  code  of  military  regulations,  to  in- 
troduce a  thorough  uniformity  in  the  service.  The  general 
approved  of  his  design,  and  in  order  to  facilitate  its  execution, 
ordered  him  to  repair  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  might  be  at 
hand  to  have  the  necessary  information  from  the  board  of  war. 
Steuben  endeavored  at  the  same  time  to  get  his  office  finally 
arranged  upon  a  more  definite  and  permanent  footing.  He 
let  no  opportunity  pass  to  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to 
this — as  it  justly  appeared  to  him — indispensable  business,  and 
to  the  importance  of  its  settlement.  It  is  not  difficult  to  guess 
at  the  motives  which  predominated  in  that  body  and  pre- 
vented them  from  deciding  upon  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
question.  Steuben  partly  touches  on  them  in  the  following 
letter  which,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1778,  he  addressed  to 
the  president  of  Congress  :* 

"  *  *  *  At  the  same  time,  I  lay  before  them  the  plan  I 
*  Stoubcn  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


190  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

propose  to  follow  in  my  operations  relative  to  the  department 
they  have  been  pleased  to  confide  to  me,  and  which,  if  ap- 
proved by  them,  I  shall  execute  with  the  greatest  exactness. 
Your  Excellency  will  risk  nothing  in  answering  tor  me,  that 
on  my  side  I  shall  surmount  every  obstacle  I  meet  with. 
Those  which  may  affect  my  sanity,  rank,  authority,  command, 
or  any  other  distinction,  will  be  the  last  sacrifice  I  shall  make 
to  the  good  of  the  service.  I  am,  sir,  prepared  to  experience 
the  fate  of  foreigners ;  in  every  state,  in  every  army,  already 
have  I  experienced  it.  Envy  raised  its  standard  in  the  mo- 
ment when  our  troops  were  beginning  to  make  some  progress ; 
the  interruption  it  gave  to  my  projects,  was  the  only  chagrin 
it  caused  me.  To  their  criticisms  and  remarks  I  paid  not  the 
least  attention ;  it  is  much  easier  to  criticise  than  to  execute, 
and  their  remarks  were  beneath  my  notice. 

"I  willingly  allow,  that  what  few  things  I  have  hitherto 
shown,  the  essentials  are  so  simple  that  each  major  could 
perhaps  have  introduced  them.  Notwithstanding  the  num- 
ber of  foreign  officers  of  merit  who  arrived  long  before  me,  I 
found  it  left  for  me.  Be  it  as  it  .may,  whatever  military  talents 
I  may  possess,  they  are  dedicated  to  the  service  of  this  coun- 
try, to  which  I  join  a  zeal  for  which  I  can  answer,  and  I  be- 
lieve I  can  offer  no  more." 

The  letter  which  Steuben  at  this  time  wrote  to  Washing- 
ton, shows,  on  the  one  hand,  his  uncertainty,  and  the  very 
slender  hopes  he  entertained  in  regard  to  the  final  regulation 
of  the  inspectorship,  and  proves,  on  the  other  hand,  the  inde- 
cision of  Congress  in  the  matter. 

"  On  my  arrival  in  this  city,"  says  he,  dated  Philadelphia  on 
the  6th  of  December  1778,*  "  I  delivered  your  Excellency's  let- 
ter to  Mr.  President  Laurens,  accompanied  with  one  from  .  .  . 
acquainting  Congress  in  what  manner  I  intended  to  proceed 
in  the  business.  I  afterwards,  in  another  letter,  requested  to 
know  to  whom  I  was  to  apply  for  the  necessary  information  on 
*  Stcubou  iiS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  191 

the  subject.  To  these  letters  I  have  had  no  other  reply  than 
a  resolve,  directing  the  board  of  war  to  furnish  me  with  every 
information  I  may  want  on  the  subject.  I  have  not  hitherto 
been  able  to  get  a  right  of  the  plan  proposed  by  a  former 
committee,  and  to  which  your  Excellency  subjoined  your  re- 
marks, nor  can  I  get  the  least  information  in  whose  hands  that 
plan  is.  All  I  can  learn  from  Mr.  President  Reed,  who  pre- 
sided in  that  committee,  is,  that  that  plan,  though  founded  on 
the  one  I  proposed,  diifered  from  it  materially,  and  that  the 
authority  of  the  inspector  general  was  therein  much  more  ex- 
tended than  I  proposed,  and  when  I  can  procure  the  other  I 
shall  see  wherein  we  have  differed.  However  it  may  be,  I  re- 
peat that  I  shall,  without  the  least  deviation,  conform  to  any 
remarks  your  Excellency  has  been  pleased  to  make.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  convince  your  Excellency  and  the  whole  army, 
that  nothing  but  the  good  of  the  service,  and  not  any  personal 
views,  shall  direct  my  actions.  The  American  soldier  under 
my  orders  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  member  of  the  republic  I 
serve.  If  every  officer  and  soldier  would  consider  me  in  the 
same  light,  it  seems  to  me  many  obstacles  would  be  avoided. 
With  respect  to  your  Excellency,  I  again  beg  you  to  consider 
me  as  an  instrument  in  your  hands  for  the  good  of  the  army 
which  has  the  honor  to  serve  under  your  orders." 

UI  had  the  honor,"  answered  Washington,  on  the  19th  of 
December,*  1778,  "of  receiving,  a  few  days  since,  your  letter 
of  the  6th  instant.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  polite  as- 
surances you  give ;  and,  in  my  turn,  I  beg  you  will  believe 
that  when  the  institution,  at  the  head  of  which  you  have  been 
placed,  can  once  be  established  on  a  footing  mutually  agree- 
able to  you  and  to  the  army,  to  which  end  all  the  measures 
I  have  taken  in  it  have  been  directed,  I  shall  be  happy  to 
give  you  every  support  in  my  power,  to  facilitate  your  opera- 
tions. In  doing  this,  I  shall  equally  consult  the  personal  con- 
sideration I  have  for  you,  and  the  improvement  and  benefit  of 
*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  14.1. 


102  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

the  army,  which,  I  am  persuaded,  will  be  greatly  promoted  by 
a  full  exertion  of  the  talents,  experience,  and  activity  of  which 
you  have  already  given  the  most  satisfactory  proof." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  adds  Alexander  Hamilton,  Washington's 
aid-de-camp,*  "  that  your  business  does  not  seem  to  make  so 
speedy  a  progress  as  we  all  wish,  but  I  hope  it  will  soon  come 
to  a  satisfactory  termination.  I  wish  you  to  be  in  a  situation 
to  employ  yourself  usefully  and  agreeably,  and  to  contribute 
to  giving  our  military  constitution  that  order  and  perfection  it 
certainly  wants." 

All  the  good  wishes  of  Washington,  Hamilton,  Laurens, 
and  others,  were,  however,  ineffectual,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  winter  passed  before  Congress  adopted  Steuben's  plan 
and  views.  On  the  18th  of  February,  1119,  it  took  into  con- 
sideration the  reports  of  the  committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  M. 
Smith,  Mr.  Ellery,  Mr.  Ellsworth,  Mr.  Paca,  and  Mr.  T.  Ad- 
ams, appointed  to  confer  with  the  commander-in-chief;  and, 
thereupon,  agreed  to  the  following  plan  for  the  department 
of  inspector  general  :f 

"Resolved,  That  there  be  an  inspector  general  to  the  ar- 
mies of  the  United  States,  with  the  rank  of  major  general, 
who,  in  all  future  appointments,  shall  be  taken  from  the  line 
of  major  generals : 

"  That  the  duty  of  the  inspector  general  shall  principally 
consist  in  forming  a  system  of  regulations  for  the  exercise  of 
the  troops  in  the  manual  evolutions  and  maneuvers,  for  the 
service  of  guards  and  detachments,  and  for  camp  and  garrison 
duty: 

"That  the  inspector  general,  and  his  assistants,  shall  review 
the  troops  at  such  times  and  places,  and  receive  such  returns 
for  that  purpose,  as  the  commander-in-chief;  or  commanding 
officer  in  a  detachment,  shall  direct;  at  which  reviews,  he  or 
they  shall  inspect  the  number  and  condition  of  the  men,  their 
discipline  and  exercise,  the  state  of  their  arms,  accouterments 
*  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  i.,  12.     f  Journals  of  Congress,  v.,  5G-58. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  193 

and  clothes ;  observing  what  of  these  articles  have  been  lost 
or  spoiled  since  the  last  review,  and,  as  nearly  as  possible,  by 
what  means ;  reporting  the  same,  with  the  deficiencies  and  neg- 
lects, to  the  commander-in-chief,  or  the  commanding  officer  of 
a  detachment,  and  to  the  board  of  war : 

"  That  all  new  maneuvers  shall  be  introduced  by  the  in- 
spector general,  and  all  old  ones  performed  according  to  the 
established  principles,  under  his  superintendency ;  but  he  shall 
not  introduce  or  practice  any  regulations  relative  to  the  ob- 
jects of  his  department,  save  such  as  are  made  and  estab- 
lished in  manner  following :  all  regulations  whatsoever  to  be 
finally  approved  and  established  by  Congress.  But  the  exi- 
gence of  the  service  requiring  it,  temporary  ones  may,  from 
time  to  time,  be  introduced  by  the  inspector  general,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  commander-in-chief.  These  regulations  to 
be  communicated  to  the  army  through  the  adjutant  general, 
and  to  be  transmitted  to  the  board  of  war  with  all  convenient 
dispatch,  that,  being  examined  and  reported  by  them  to  Con- 
gress, they  may  be  rejected,  altered,  amended,  or  confirmed, 
as  Congress  shall  deem  proper : 

"That  there  be  as  many  sub-inspectors  as  the  commander- 
in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  in  a  detachment,  shall,  on  con- 
sideration of  the  strength  and  situation  of  the  army,  from 
time  to  time  deem  necessary,  to  be  taken  from  the  line  of  lieu- 
tenant colonels,  and  to  receive  their  instructions  relative  to 
the  department  from  the  inspector  general : 

"That  there  be  one  brigade  inspector  to  each  brigade, 
who  shall  be  one  of  the  majors  in  the  brigade,  and  that  the 
office  of  brigade  inspector  shall  in  future  be  annexed  to  that 
of  major  of  brigade.  He  shall  accordingly  keep  a  roster  of 
the  battalions  of  his  brigade,  regulate  the  details,  and  take 
care  of  the  formation  and  march  of  all  guards,  detachments, 
etc.,  from  the  brigade.  He  is  to  receive  the  general  orders 
and  communicate  them  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the 
brigade  and  regiments,  and  through  the  adjutants  to  all  the 

9 


194  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

officers  of  the  brigade.  He  is,  so  far  as  concerns  his  brigade, 
to  inspect  the  police  of  the  camp,  the  discipline  and  order  of 
the  service.  In  time  of  action  he  is  to  assist  in  executing  the 
necessary  maneuvers  of  the  brigade,  according  to  the  orders 
of  the  brigadier  or  officer  commanding.  He  is  to  do  no  duty 
in  the  line : 

"  That  all  the  officers  of  the  inspectorship,  having  appoint- 
ments in  the  line,  shall  retain  their  rights  of  command,  suc- 
cession, and  promotion,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  they  had  not 
assumed  the  office.  But  as  the  duties  of  this  department  are 
sufficient  to  employ  their  whole  time,  they  are  to  suspend  the 
exercise  of  their  respective  commands,  except  on  particular 
occasions,  when  the  commander-in-chief,  or  commanding  of- 
ficer in  a  detachment  may  deem  it  necessary  to  invest  them 
with  command.  They  are  to  be  exempted  from  all  common 
camp  and  garrison  duty,  that  they  may  attend  the  more 
carefully  to  those  of  the  inspector,  and  in  time  of  action  they 
are  to  be  employed  in  assisting  in  the  execution  of  the  field 
maneuvers : 

"  That  the  inspector  general,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  army,  be  subject  to  the  orders  of  Congress, 
the  board  of  war,  and  the  commander-in-chief  only ;  but  the 
sub-inspectors  shall  also  be  subject  to  the  officers  commanding 
the  divisions  and  brigades  to  which  they  are  attached  on  the 
principles  herein  established : 

"  That  there  be  allowed  to  the  inspector  general,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  extraordinary  expenses  which  attend  the  exe- 
cution of  his  office,  eighty-four  dollars  per  month,  in  addition 
to  the  pay  and  rations  of  a  major  general^  heretofore  provided."* 

At  the  session  of  the  29th  of  March,  1779,  "a  letter  of 
the  25th,  from  Baron  Steuben,  was  read,  accompanied  with 
a  system  of  regulations  for  the  infantry  of  the  United  States ; 
also  a  letter  from  the  board  of  war,  representing  that  Baron 
Steuben,  inspector  general,  has  funned  a  system  of  exer- 
*  Journals  of  Congress,  session  of  the  18th  of  February,  1? 19. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  195 

cise  and  discipline  for  the  infantry  of  the  United  States; 
that  the  same  has  been  submitted  to  the  inspection  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  his  remarks  thereon  and  amend- 
ments incorporated  in  the  work ;  that  it  has  been  examined 
with  attention  by  the  board,  and  is  highly  approved,  as  being 
calculated  to  produce  important  advantages  to  the  States,  and 
therefore  praying  '  that  it  may  receive  the  sanction  of  Con- 
gress and  be  committed  to  the  press ;'  whereupon, 

"  Congress  passed  the  following  order,  to  be  prefixed  to 
the  said  regulations  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  troops 
of  the  United  States  : — 

"  Congress  judging  it  of  the  greatest  importance  to  pre- 
scribe some  invariable  rules  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
troops,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  a  uniformity 
in  their  formation  and  maneuvers,  and  in  the  service  of  the 
camp: 

"  Ordered,  That  the  following  regulations  be  observed  by 
all  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  and  that  all  general  and 
other  officers  cause  the  same  to  be  executed  with  all  possible 
exactness. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  board  of  war  cause  as  many  copies 
thereof  to  be  printed,  as  they  shall  deem  requisite  for  the  use 
of  the  troops." 

Before  we  pass  from  the  consideration  of  the  events  of  the 
year  1778,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  Steuben's  opinion  con- 
cerning the  result  of  the  last  campaign,  as  detailed  by  him  in 
an  interesting  letter,  which  he  wrote  at  the  end  of  that  year, 
to  James  Lowell,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  foreign  af- 
fairs.* 

"If  I  have  not  answered  the  two  letters  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  receive  from  you,  it  was  in  order  not  to  trouble  you 
with  a  correspondence  less  interesting  than  the  affairs  with 
which  you  are  charged.  All  that  I  can  say,  dear  sir,  in  regard 
to  the  inspection,  is  that  I  shall  respectfully  wait  for  the  de- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Paper?,  vol.  xiii. 


i  9(3  LIFE     OF      STEUBEN, 

cision  of  Congress  in  this  matter.  When  I  made  application 
for  various  arrangements  which  I  thought  necessary  for  the 
good  of  the  army,  I  have  fulfilled  a  self-imposed  duty.  Should 
the  said  arrangements  not  be  carried  out,  then  I  have  eased 
my  mind,  and  shall  be  justified  in  the  eyes  of  every  military 
man.  Let  us,  however,  leave  this  matter,  and  look  for  a 
moment  on  the  actual  situation  of  our  war  operations. 

"  We  have  very  fortunately  escaped  a  serious  danger  at 
Rhode  Island.  The  enemy  can  not  boast  of  having  gained  the 
least  advantage  over  the  allied  fleet,  nor  over  our  army.  A 
change  in  the  wind  has  favored  him  and  caused  the  failure  of 
our  plan.  As  it  is  but  fair  to  render  justice  even  to  our 
enemies,  we  ought  to  admit  that  the  English  and  the  wind 
have  made  us  miss  two  highly  important  strokes — that  on  the 
Delaware  because  the  French  fleet  did  not  arrive  a  little 
earlier,  and  that  on  Rhode  Island.  If,  when  I  made  war 
under  the  King  of  Prussia,  we  had  escaped  two  such  strokes 
in  one  campaign,  we  should  have  called  that  a  successful  cam- 
paign. Here  we  are  now  on  the  defensive,  a  species  of  war- 
fare extremely  difficult  and  oftentimes  dangerous.  We  have 
two  objects  to  attain  equally  important — to  retain  possession  of 
the  North  river,  and  to  bring  our  main  force  close  to  Boston. 

"  In  case  the  enemy  should  undertake  any  operation,  these 
two  objects  are  very  far  distant  from  one  another.  Our  land 
force,  such  as  it  is,  must  be  ready  to  resist,  at  the  right  or  the 
left,  wherever  the  enemy  thinks  proper  to  attack  us.  Now 
what  will  become  of  that  unhappy  province,  the  Jerseys, 
wrhich  is  actually  menaced  with  devastation  and  fire  by  the 
enemy  ?  Lord  Cornwallis  has  entered  it  Avith  a  body  of  prob-. 
ably  six  thousand  men.  Will  Lord  Stirling  be  able  to  oppose 
such  a  force  with  his  three  brigades,  the  number  of  which  I 
will  not  mention,  so  as  not  to  annoy  you  ?  Perhaps  you  will 
say,  'The  militia  of  New  Jersey.'  But  is  the  militia  still  an- 
imated by  the  same  spirit  as  it  was  when  America  had  no 
regular  army?     Now,  allowing  for  the  said  three  brigades, 


LIFE      OP     STEUBEN.  197 

and  two  more  at  Providence,  look  at  this  side  of  the  river 
and  tell  me  what  other  forces  have  we  there  ?  Do  not  be 
deluded,  sir,  by  the  rolls  of  our  regiments  or  brigades ;  de- 
duct therefrom,  unhesitatingly,  one  third  for  those  who,  either 
for  the  want  of  clothing  or  shoes,  are  unable  to  make  a  single 
march  in  the  present  season  of  the  year,  when  the  nights  are 
already  cold  and  wet.  I  am  not  afraid  to  tell  you  the  truth, 
disagreeable  as  it  is ;  no,  on  the  contrary,  I  consider  it  my 
duty  to  show  you  the  actual  situation  of  our  army.  I  beg 
you  rather,  sir,  to  examine  attentively  the  land  forces  which 
the  enemy  possesses  on  this  continent ;  look  at  their  number, 
their  nourishment,  clothing,  arms,  order  and  discipline  ;  see 
how  much  we  are  inferior,  in  all  these  respects,  to  them,  and 
then  answer  me  if  our  game  is  not  a  very  hazardous  one  ? 

"  How  long  will  our  country  continue  to  stake  her  fortune 
upon  the  issue  of  one  day  ?  How  many  more  millions  has 
the  devastation  of  the  Jerseys  devoured  than  it  would  have 
taken  for  the  States  to  have  completed  the  regiments  upon 
the  plan  adopted  by  Congress,  in  which  case  we  should  have 
had  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men  ?  Had  we  had  this  force, 
nay.  had  we  had  only  thirty  thousand,  would  the  enemy  ever 
have  dared  to  put  a  foot  out  of  New  York  island  ? 

"  Too  numerous  an  army  is  expensive,  but  too  small  an 
army  is  dangerous.  In  1776  General  Washington  had  the 
glory  to  maintain  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  eighteen 
thousand  man.  I  sincerely  hope  that  he  may  not  have  that 
glory  a  second  time.  If  too  much  backwardness  had  not  been 
exhibited  in  this  matter,  the  war  would  probably  have  been 
already  at  an  end.  In  order  to  secure  peace  on  a  solid  and 
honorable  basis,  it  is  prudent  to  redouble  every  preparation 
for  carrying  on  the  war. 

"  This  is  the  system  which  I  think  is  adapted  to  our  pres- 
ent situation,  besides  which,  if  our  regiments  are  not  com- 
pleted and  put  upon  an  equal  and  uniform  footing,  numerically 
speaking,  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  introduce  order  or  uni- 


198  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

forraity  in  the  administration  or  discipline  of  the  army.  .  .  .  * 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  which  we  have  lost  by  surprise.  In  ion- 
sequence  of  the  bad  discipline,  the  service  of  the  picket  guards 
of  patrols  is  entirely  neglected  in  our  army.  Our  cavalry  is 
without  a  leader — not  a  single  officer  of  that  arm  understands 
the  duty.  They  are  brave,  I  have  no  doubt,  but  bravery 
alone  does  not  constitute  an  officer. 

"  Is  that  not  a  long  jeremiade  upon  the  condition  of  our 
army  ?  If,  however,  I  had  described  the  things  as  they  really 
are,  the  truth  would  surpass  all  probability.  Be  persuaded, 
sir,  that  it  is  only  to  you  that  I  venture  to  make  these  confi- 
dential communications.  I  know  very  well  that  under  the 
present  circumstances  it  is  necessary  to  look  cheerfully  when 
one  feels  most  sadly.  I  most  sincerely  wish  the  welfare  of  this 
country,  and  that  alone  is  the  motive  of  my  solicitude." 
*  Illegible  in  the  original. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Steuben's  Stay  at  Philadelphia. — He  composes  the  "  Regulations  for  the  Order 
and  Discipline  of  the  Troops  of  the  United  States." — Basis  of  his  System. 
— His  Assistants. — The  Contents  of  the  Book. — Review  of  its  twenty-five 
Chapters. — Appendix,  containing  the  Instructions  for  Officers,  Sergeants, 
and  Soldiers. — The  Way  in  which  the  Book  was  finished. — Washington's  ac- 
knowledging Letter. — Steuben's  Answer. — Congress  adopts  his  Work  for  the 
Benefit  of  the  Army. — Resolution  of  the  29th  of  March,  1779. — Delay  in 
printing  the  book. — steuben's  impatience. — letters  of  pickering  and  peters. 
— Want  of  Workingmen  and  Materials  in  Philadelphia. — Resolutions  of 
Congress  of  the  5th  of  April,  1779. — Letter  of  William  Livingston. — Let- 
ter of  the  French  Ambassador. — Steuben  prepares  to  join  the  Army. — Re- 
wards to  ins  Assistants. — Comic  Proposition  of  Mis.  Root  of  Connecticut. — 
He  goes  to  Head-Quarters  at  Middlebrook. 

WE  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  that  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  Steuben's  stay  at  Philadelphia  during 
the  winter  of  1778-1779,  was  to  compose  a  book  of  regula- 
tions for  the  American  army.  He  selected  for  that  purpose 
Colonel  Fleury  and  Captain  Walker  as  his  assistants,  Captain 
De  l'Enfant  to  draw  the  plans,  and  Mr.  Duponceau  as  his 
secretary.  He  began  his  work  with  the  infantry  regulations. 
The  rules  which  he  laid  down  for  himself  were — not  to  be 
influenced  by  any  predilection  for  any  European  work  on 
the  subject,  and  to  extract  the  good  and  leave  the  bad  and 
the  useless  of  them  all;  to  be  as  short  and  explicit  as  pos- 
sible, and  only  to  treat  the  most  essential  matters;  to  di- 
vide his  book  into  four  parts — 1st,  the  service  of  the  in- 
fantry in  the  field ;  2d,  service  in  garrison  and  on  parade ; 
3d,  service  of  the  cavalry,  and  4th,  the  service  of  light 
troops.  He  only  intended  to  finish  the  first  part  during  the 
winter;  in  fact  the  others  have  never  been  finished  since  for 
want  of  time  and  means,  although  that  part  relating  to  the 
cavalry  was  in  manuscript  ready  to  be  printed. 


200  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

These  "  Regulations  for  the  Order  and  Discipline  of  the 
Troops  of  the  United  States,"  contain  twenty-five  chapters, 
the  first  of  which  speaks  of  the  arms  and  accouterments  of  the 
officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  (they  should 
be  uniform  throughout) ;  the  second  details  the  objects  with 
which  the  officers  and  non-commissoned  officers  should  be  ac- 
quainted. 

The  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  each  regiment  are  to 
be  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  manual  exercise,  marchings  and  firings, 
that  they  may  be  able  to  instruct  their  soldiers  when  necessary ;  they 
must  also  be  acquainted  with  the  dress,  discipline,  and  police  of  the 
troops,  and  with  every  thing  that  relates  to  the  service.  The  command- 
ing officer  of  each  regiment  is  to  be  answerable  for  the  general  instruc- 
tion of  the  regiment,  and  is  to  exercise,  or  cause  to  be  exercised,  the 
officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  and  soldiers,  whenever  he  thinks 
proper. 

The  third  chapter  treats  of  the  formation  of  a  company. 

To  be  formed  in  two  ranks,  at  one  pace  distance,  with  the  tallest 
men  in  the  rear,  and  both  ranks  sized  with  the  shortest  men  of  each  in 
the  center. 

The  fourth  chapter  relates  to  the  formation  of  a  regiment. 

A  regiment  is  to  consist  of  eight  companies,  which  are  to  be  posted 
in  the  following  order  from  right  to  left.  First,  captains,  colonels  ; 
fourth,  captains,  majors;  third,  captains,  lieutenant  colonels;  fifth,  cap- 
tains ;  second,  captains.  For  the  greater  facility  in  maneuvering,  each 
regiment  consisting  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  files,  is  to  be 
formed  in  two  battalions,  with  an  interval  of  twenty  paces  between 
them,  and  one  color  posted  in  the  center  of  each  battalion.  When  a 
regiment  is  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  files,  it  is  to  be  filed  in 
one  battalion,  with  both  colors  in  the  center.  Every  battalion,  whether 
it  compose  the  whole  or  only  half  of  a  regiment,  is  to  be  divided  into 
four  divisions  and  eight  platoons,  no  platoon  to  consist  of  less  than  ten 
files,  so  that  a  regiment  consisting  of  less  than  eighty  files  can  not  form 
a  battalion,  but  must  be  incorporated  with  some  other,  or  employed  on 
detachment.  When  the  light  company  is  with  the  regiment  it  must  be 
formed  twenty  paces  on  the  right,  on  the  parade,  but  must  not  inter- 
fere with  the  exercise  of  the  battalion,  but  exercise  by  itself;  and  when 
the  light  infantry  are  embodied,  every  four  companies  will  form  a  bat- 
talion, and  exercise  in  the  same  manner  as  the  battalion  in  the  line. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  201 

The  fifth  chapter  teaches  the  instruction  of  recruits. 

The  commanding  officer  of  each  company  is  charged  with  the  in- 
struction of  his  recruits,  and  as  that  is  a  service  that  requires  not  only 
experience,  but  a  patience  and  temper  not  met  with  in  every  officer, 
he  is  to  make  choice  of  an  officer,  sergeant,  and  one  or  two  corporals 
of  his  company,  who,  being  approved  of  by  the  colonel,  are  to  attend 
particularly  to  that  business ;  but  in  case  of  the  arrival  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  recruits,  every  officer,  without  distinction,  is  to  be  employed  on 

that  service The  recruits  must  be  taken  singly,  and  first  taught 

to  put  on  their  accouterments,  and  carry  themselves  properly. 

It  then  prescribes  the  position  of  the  soldier,  1st,  without 
arms;  2d,  under  arms,  and  lastly,  the  manual  exercise. 

When  the  recruits  have  practiced  the  foregoing  exercises  till  they 
are  sufficiently  expert,  they  must  be  sent  to  exercise  with  their  com- 
pany. 

The  sixth  chapter  gives  the  exercise  of  a  company.  It  is 
divided  into  five  articles.  The  first  treats  of  opening  the  ranks ; 
the  second,  of  the  firings ;  the  third,  of  the  march  ;  the  fourth, 
of  wheeling;  and  the  fifth,  of  breaking  off  and  forming  by  the 
oblique  step. 

Two  or  more  companies  may  be  joined  to  perform  the  company  ex- 
ercise when  they  have  been  sufficiently  exercised  by  single  companies, 
but  not  till  then ;  the  inattention  of  the  soldiers,  and  difficulty  of  in- 
structing them,  increasing  in  proportion  with  the  numbers. 

The  seventh  chapter  treats  of  the  exercise  of  a  battalion  ; 
the  eighth,  of  the  points  of  view  ;  the  ninth  enters  into  the 
details  of  the  formation  and  displaying  of  columns,  with  the 
method  of  changing  front,  and  consists  of  ten  articles,  the  last 
of  which  "  of  changing  the  front  of  a  line,"  concludes  as  fol- 
lows : 

If  it  be  necessary  to  change  the  front  of  a  line  consisting  of  more 
than  a  brigade,  the  simplest  and  surest  method  is  to  form  close  columns, 
either  by  brigades  or  battalions,  march  them  to  the  direction  required, 
and  display. 

The  tenth  chapter  speaks,  in  five  articles,  of  the  march  of 
columns.     We  insert  here  the  first  two  : 

9* 


202  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

The  march  of  columns  is  an  operation  so  often  repeated,  and  of  so 
much  consequence,  that  it  must  be  considered  as  an  essential  article  in 
the  instruction  of  both  officers  and  men. 

Article  I.  The  March  of  an  Open  Column.  —  Column  !  March, ! 
The  whole  column  must  always  begin  to  march,  and  halt,  at  the  same 
time,  and  only  by  order  of  the  commanding  officer.  After  the  first 
twenty  paces,  he  should  command — Support — Arms  1  when  the  men 
may  march  more  at  their  ease,  but  keeping  their  files  close.  Before  the 
column  halts,  he  should  command —  Carry  arms  !  Column  !  Halt !  Dress 
to  the  right !  When  marching  in  open  column,  the  officer  commanding 
will  open  from  battalion,  by  wheeling  to  the  right  or  left,  in  order  to 
see  if  the  officers  have  preserved  the  proper  distances  between  the 
platoons. 

Article  II.  Columns  changing  the  Direction  of  their  March. — When 
a  column  is  obliged  to  change  the  direction  of  its  march,  the  front 
platoon  must  not  wheel  around  on  its  flank,  but  advance  in  a  direction 
more  or  less  circular,  according  to  the  depth  of  the  column,  that  the  other 
platoons  may  follow.  An  open  column  changes  the  direction  of  its 
march  by  wheeling  the  front  platoon,  the  others  following;  in  doing 
which  the  officers  commanding  the  platoons  must  be  particularly  careful 
that  their  platoons  wheel  on  the  same  ground  with  the  front  platoon, 
for  which  purpose  a  sergeant  should  be  left  to  mark  the  pivot  on  which 
they  are  to  wheel. 

Article  three  of  this  chapter  treats  of  the  passage  of  a  defile 
by  a  column  ;  article  four,  of  a  column  crossing  a  plain,  liable 
to  be  attacked  by  cavalry  ;  and  article  five,  of  a  column  march- 
ing by  its  flank. 

The  eleventh  chapter — Of  the  March  in  Line — is  divided 
into  nine  articles,  the  first  three  of  which  are  the  most  impor- 
tant. 

Article  I. — The  March  to  the  Front. — Battalion!  Forward!  At 
this  caution,  the  ensign,  with  the  colors,  advances  six  paces ;  the  ser- 
geant who  covered  him  taking  his  place.  The  whole  are  to  dress  by 
the  colors.  The  commandant  of  the  battalion  will  be  posted  two  paces 
in  front  of  the  colors,  and  will  give  the  ensign  an  object  to  serve  as  a 
direction  for  him  to  march  straight  forward — March!  The  ensign  who 
carries  the  colors  will  be  careful  to  march  straight  to  the  object  given 
him  by  the  colonel ;  to  do  which  he  must  fix  on  some  intermediate  ob- 
ject. If  many  battalions  are  in  the  line,  the  ensign  must  dress  by  the 
ensign  in  the  center;  if  only  two,  they  will  dress  by  each  other.     They 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  203 

must  be  very  careful  not  to  advance  beyond  the  battalion  they  are  to 
dress  by,  it  being  much  easier  to  advance  than  to  fall  back.  Should  a 
battalion  by  any  cause  be  hindered  from  advancing  in  line  with  the  rest, 
the  ensign  of  that  battalion  must  drop  his  colors  as  a  signal  to  the  other 
battalions  (who  might  otherwise  stop  to  dress  by  them)  not  to  conform 
to  their  movements ;  the  colors  to  be  raised  again  when  the  battalion 
has  advanced  to  its  post  in  the  line.  The  commanding  officer  of  each 
battalion  must  be  careful  that  his  men  dress  and  keep  their  files  close, 
and  to  preserve  the  proper  distances  between  his  own  battalion  and 
those  on  his  flanks ;  and  when  he  finds  that  he  is  too  near  the  one  or 
the  other,  must  command — 

when  the  battalion  will  march  by  the  oblique  step,  as  ordered,  till  they 
have  recovered  their  distance,  and  receive  the  command — Forward! 
upon  which  the  battalion  will  march  forward,  and  the  ensign  take  a  new 
object  to  march  to.  If  the  distance  is  augmented  or  diminished  only 
two  or  three  paces,  the  commanding  officer  will  order  the  colors  to 
incline  a  little,  and  thus  march  forward,  the  latter  line  conforming  to 
their  movement.  The  officers  commanding  platoons  will  continually 
have  an  eye  over  them,  immediately  remedying  any  defect,  carefully 
dressing  with  the  center,  and  keeping  step  with  the  colors.  The  offi- 
cers in  the  rear  must  take  care  of  the  second  rank,  remedying  any  de- 
fect, in  a  low  voice,  and  with  as  little  noise  as  possible.  The  soldier 
must  not  advance  out  of  the  rank  the  shoulder  opposite  the  side  he 
dresses  to  ;  he  must  not  crowd  his  right  or  left  hand  man,  but  give  way 
to  the  pressure  of  the  center,  and  resist  that  of  the  wings.  He  must 
have  his  eye  continually  fixed  on  the  colors,  turning  his  head  more  or 
less,  in  proportion  to  his  distance  from  them. 

Battalion  !  Halt  !     The  whole  stop  short  on  the  feet  thus  advanced. 

Dress  to  the  right !  The  men  dress  to  the  right,  and  the  colors  fall 
back  into  the  ranks. 

Article  II. —  Of  the  Charge  with  Bayonets, — The  fine  marching,  the 
commanding  officer,  on  approaching  the  enemy,  comands,  March ! 
March ! — on  which  the  whole  advance  by  the  quick  step,  Charge — 
bayonets!  The  line  charge  their  bayonets,  and  quicken  their  step;  the 
drums  beat  the  long  roll,  and  the  officers  and  men  must  take  care  to  dress 
to  the  center,  and  not  crowd  or  open  their  files.  Battalion  ! — Slow  step  ! — 
The  battalion  fall  into  the  slow  step,  and  carry  their  arms.  Halt ! — 
Dress  to  the  right!     The  battalion  halts,  and  dresses  to  the  right, 

Article  III. — Method  of  passing  any  Obstacle  in  Front  of  a  Line.— 
When  an  obstacle  presents  itself  before  any  division,  platoon,  or  number 


204  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

of  files,  the  officer  commanding  the  platoons,  etc.,  commands,  Break 
off! — on  which  the  files  obstructed  face  outwards  from  their  center, 
and  follow  by  files  the  platoons  on  their  right  and  left;  if  the  platoons 
on  the  wings  are  obstructed,  they  will  face  inwards,  and  follow  in  the 
same  manner.  In  proportion  as  the  ground  permits,  the  files  will  march 
up  to  their  places  in  front,  dress,  and  take  step  with  colors. 

Article  IV. — Passage  of  a  Defile  in  Front  by  Platoons. 

Article  V. — Passage  of  a  Defile  in  Front  by  Files. 

Article  VI. —  Of  the  March  in  Retreat. 

Article  VII. — Passage  of  a  Defile  in  Retreat  by  Platoons. 

Article  VIII. — Passage  of  a  Defile  in  Retreat  by  Files. 

Article  IX. — Method  of  passing  the  Front  Line  to  the  Rear. 

The  twelfth  chapter — Of  the  Disposition  of  the  Field- 
pieces  attached  to  the  Brigades — we  give  in  full : 

The  field-pieces  attached  to  the  different  brigades  must  always  re- 
main with  them,  encamping  on  their  right,  unless  the  quarter-master 
general  thinks  proper  to  place  them  on  any  advantageous  piece  of 
ground  in  front.  When  the  army  marches  by  the  right,  the  field-pieces 
must  march  at  the  head  of  their  respective  brigades ;  when  it  marches 
by  the  left,  they  follow  in  the  rear,  unless  circumstances  determine  the 
general  to  order  otherwise ;  but,  whether  they  march  in  front,  center, 
or  rear  of  their  brigades,  they  must  always  march  between  the  bat- 
talions, and  never  between  the  platoons.  In  maneu  vering,  they  must 
also  follow  their  brigades,  performing  the  maneuvers  and  evolutions 
with  them,  observing  that  when  the  close  column  is  formed  they  must 
always  proceed  to  the  flank  of  the  column  opposed  to  that  side  their 
brigade  is  to  display  to ;  and,  on  the  column's  displaying,  they  follow 
the  first  division  of  their  brigade,  and,  when  that  halts  and  forms,  the 
field-pieces  immediately  take  their  post  on  its  right. 

The  thirteenth  chapter — Of  the  Firings — begins  as  fol- 
lows : 

When  the  troops  are  to  exercise  with  powder,  the  officers  must 
carefully  inspect  the  arms  and  cartridge-boxes,  and  take  away  all  the 
cartridges  with  ball.  The  first  part  of  the  general  will  be  the  signal  for 
all  firing  to  cease,  on  the  beating  of  which  the  officers  and  non-commis- 
sioned officers  must  see  that  their  platoons  cease  firing,  load  and  shoul- 
der as  quick  as  possible.  The  commanding  officer  will  continue  the 
signal  till  he  sees  that  the  men  have  loaded  and  shouldered. 

And  then  treats,  in  four  articles — 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  205 

1.  Of  Firing  by  Battalion. 

2.  Of  Firing  by  Divisions  and  Platoons. 

3.  Of  Firing  Advancing  ;  and 

4.  Of  Firing  Retreating. 

The  chapters  fourteen  to  eighteen  prescribe  the  rules  for  the 
march  of  an  army  or  corps,  for  the  baggage  on  the  march,  the 
manner  of  laying  out  a  camp,  with  the  order  of  encampment ; 
the  manner  of  entering  a  camp,  and  the  necessary  regulations 
for  preserving  order  and  cleanliness  in  the  camp.  We  insert  here 
the  fourteenth  chapter —  Of  the  March  of  cm  Army  or  Corps — 
in  full,  in  order  to  show  the  minuteness  with  which  the  small- 
est details  of  the  service  are  alluded  to  : 

The  greatest  attention  on  the  part  of  the  officers  is  necessary  at  all 
times,  but  more  particularly  on  a  march.  The  soldiers  being  then  per- 
mitted to  march  at  their  ease,  with  the  ranks  and  files  open,  without 
the  greatest  care,  these  get  confounded  one  with  another ;  and,  if  sud- 
denly attacked,  instead  of  being  able  to  form  immediately  in  order  of 
battle,  the  whole  line  is  thrown  into  the  utmost  confusion.  The  order 
for  the  march  of  an  army  being  given,  the  adjutant  general  will  appoint 
the  field  officers  for  the  advanced  and  rear  guards,  and  issue  orders  to 
the  brigade  majors  to  have  ready  their  respective  quotas  of  other  offi- 
cers and  men  for  the  advanced  guard,  which  will  consist  of  the  number 
necessary  for  the  guards  of  the  new  camp.  These,  together  with  a  pio- 
neer of  each  company,  and  a  sergeant  from  the  regiment  to  conduct  them, 
must  be  warned  the  evening  before.  At  the  beating  of  the  general,  the 
troops  are  immediately  to  strike  their  tents  and  load  the  wagons,  which 
must  then  fall  into  the  line  of  march  for  the  baggage.  At  this  signal, 
also,  all  general  and  staff  officers'  guards,  and  those  of  the  commissaries, 
must  return  to  their  respective  regiments.  At  the  beating  of  the  as- 
sembly, the  troops  will  assemble,  and  be  formed  in  battalion  on  their 
respective  parades.  The  guards  ordered  must  then  be  conducted  by  the 
brigade  majors  or  adjutants  of  the  day,  to  the  rendezvous  appointed  for 
the° advanced  guard,  where  the  field  officers  warned  for  that  duty  will 
form  them  in  battalions  or  other  corps,  according  to  their  strength,  and 
divide  them  regularly  into  divisions  and  platoons.  The  officer  command- 
ing the  advanced  guard  must  take  care  to  have  a  guide  with  him,  and 
to  £et  every  necessary  information  of  the  road?  The  camp  guards 
must,  at  the  same  time,  retire  to  the  rendezvous  appointed  for  the  rear 
guard,  where  they  must  be  formed  in  the  same  manner.  At  the  same 
time,  also,  the  quarter-masters  and  pioneers  of  each  battalion  must  as- 


206  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

scmble  on  the  ground  appointed  by  the  advanced  guard,  where  one  ot 
the  deputies  of  the  quarter-master  general  must  form  them  in  platoons, 
in  the  same  order  as  their  respective  battalions  march  in  the  column. 
Each  detachment  will  be  conducted  by  its  quarter-master,  who  must  be 
answerable  that  it  marches  in  the  order  prescribed ;  and  the  quarter- 
masters of  brigades  will  conduct  those  of  their  respective  brigades,  and 
be  answerable  for  their  behavior. 

The  signal  for  marching  being  given,  the  whole  will  wheel  by  pla- 
toons or  sections,  as  shall  be  ordered,  and  begin  the  march. 

The  advanced  guard  will  march  at  a  distance  from  the  main  body 
proportioned  to  its  strength,  having  a  patrol  advanced  ;  and  must  never 
enter  any  defile,  wood,  etc.,  without  having  first  examined  it,  to  avoid 
falling  into  an  ambuscade. 

The  pioneers  are  to  march  behind  the  advanced  guard,  and  must 
repair  the  roads,  that  the  column  may  be  obliged  to  file  off  as  little  as 
possible. 

The  advanced  guard,  besides  its  patrols  in  front,  must  have  a  flank 
guard,  composed  of  a  file  from  each  platoon,  and  commanded  by  an  offi- 
cer, or  non-commissioned  officer,  to  inarch  at  the  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred paces  on  the  flank,  and  keep  up  with  the  head  of  the  advanced 
guard. 

If  it  be  necessary  to  have  a  flank  guard  on  each  side,  a  file  must  be 
sent  from  the  other  flank  of  each  platoon  to  compose  it;  and,  as  this 
service  is  fatiguing,  the  men  should  be  relieved  every  hour.  The  like 
flank  guards  are  to  be  detached  from  each  battalion  in  the  column. 

For  the  greater  convenience  of  the  soldiers,  the  ranks  must  be  opened 
to  half  distance  during  the  march. 

When  the  column  meets  with  a  defile,  or  any  obstacle,  the  com- 
manding officer  must  stop  till  the  column  has  passed  it,  taking  care  that 
they  pass  in  as  great  order  and  as  quick  as  possible  ;  and  when  one  has 
marched  through,  he  must  command  the  front  to  halt,  till  the  whole 
have  passed  and  formed,  when  he  will  continue  the  march. 

When  a  column  crosses  a  road  that  leads  to  the  enemy,  the  patrols 
or  guards  on  the  flanks  of  the  first  battalion  must  form  on  the  road,  and 
halt  till  the  patrols  of  the  next  battalion  come  up,  which  must  do  the 
same;  the  others  proceed  in  the  same  manner  till  the  whole  have 
passed. 

When  the  commanding  officer  thinks  proper  to  halt  on  the  march, 
immediately  on  the  column's  halting,  the  advanced  flank  and  rear 
guards  must  form  a*chain  of  sentinels,  to  prevent  the  soldiers  from 
straggling ;  and  all  necessaries,  as  wood,  water,  etc.,  must  be  fetched  by 
detachments,  as  in  camp. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  207 

On  the  beating  of  the  long  roll,  the  whole  are  to  form  and  continue 
the  march. 

On  the  march  no  orders  are  to  be  communicated  by  calling  out,  but 
must  be  sent  by  the  adjutants  from  regiment  to  regiment.  The  signals 
for  halting,  marching  slower  and  quicker,  must  be  given  by  beat  of 
drum.     (See  chapter  xxi.) 

The  commanding  officer  of  the  advanced  guard  being  informed  by 
the  quarter-master  general,  or  his  deputy,  of  the  grounds  the  troops  are 
to  encamp  on,  will  go  ahead  and  reconnoiter  it ;  and  immediately  «n 
the  arrival  of  the  advanced  guard,  post  his  guards  and  sentinels,  as  di- 
rected in  chapter  xxii. 

March  by  Sections  of  Four. — The  roads  being  very  often  too  narrow 
to  admit  the  front  of  a  platoon,  and  the  troops  being,  therefore,  con- 
tinually obliged  to  break  off,  which  fatigues  the  men ;  to  prevent  this, 
when  the  road  is  not  sufficiently  large  throughout,  the  battalions  may 
be  divided  into  sections  in  the  following  manner : 

Each  platoon  is  to  be  told  off  into  sections  of  four  files ;  if  there 
remain  three  files,  they  form  a  section ;  if  two  files  or  less,  they  form 
one  rank.  At  the  word  By  sections  of  four !  To  the  right — wheel! 
March  !  they  wheel  by  fours  and  march,  the  second  rank  of  each  section 
taking  two  paces  distance  from  the  front  rank.  The  officers  command- 
ing platoons  take  post  on  the  left  of  their  first  section  ;  but  on  the  right, 
if  the  sections  wheel  to  the  left.     The  file-closers  fall  in  on  the  flanks. 

The  officers  must  take  great  care  that  the  distance  of  two  paces, 
and  no  more,  is  kept  between  the  ranks.  At  the  word  Halt !  the  front 
rank  of  each  section  stops  short,  and  the  second  rank  closes  up,  which 
gives  the  proper  distance  between  the  sections ;  and  by  wheeling  to  the 
right  or  left,  the  line  is  formed :  or,  if  the  commanding  officer  chooses, 
he  may  form  platoons  by  the  oblique  step. 

If  a  column  be  already  on  the  march  by  platoons,  and  the  road  be- 
comes too  narrow  and  inconvenient  to  continue  in  that  order,  it  may  be 
formed  into  sections  of  four,  in  the  following  manner : 

Caution  by  the  commanding  officers :  Take  care  to  break  off  by 
sections  of  four !  Upon  which  the  officers  commanding  platoons  tell 
them  off  as  before,  but  without  halting. 

At  the  word  Sections  of  four !  Break  off!  the  sections  on  the 
right  of  each  platoon  incline  by  the  oblique  step  to  the  left ;  and  those 
on  the  left  of  each  platoon  following  the  former,  incline  to  the  right,  till 
they  all  cover  ;  when  they  march  forward,  opening  the  ranks  as  before 
directed.  If  the  number  of  sections  in  a  platoon  be  uneven,  that  in  the 
center  is  to  march  straight  forward  ;  the  section  on  the  right  inclining 
on  the  left  and  covering  it  in  front ;  and  those  on  the  left  inclining  to 
the  right,  and  covering  it  in  the  rear. 


208  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Chapter  nineteen  speaks  of  Moll  Galls. 

Chapter  twenty  treats  Of  the  Inspection  of  the  Men^ 
their  Dress,  JVecessaries,  Arms,  Accoaterments  and  Ammuni- 
tion. 

The  oftener  the  soldiers  are  under  the  inspection  of  their  officers  the 
better;  for  which  reason,  every  morning,  at  troop-beating,  they  must 
inspect  the  dress  of  their  men;  see  that  their  clothes  are  whole  and 
put  on  properly ;  their  hands  and  faces  washed  clean ;  their  hair 
combed ;  their  accouterments  properly  fixed,  and  every  article  about 
them  in  the  greatest  order.  Those  who  are  guilty  of  repeated  neglects 
in  these  particulars,  are  to  be  confined  and  punished.  The  field  officers 
must  pay  attention  to  this  object,  taking  proper  notice  of  those  compa- 
nies where  a  visible  neglect  appears,  and  publicly  applauding  those  who 
are  remarkable  for  their  good  appearance. 

Every  day  the  commanding  officers  of  companies  must  examine 
their  men's  arms  and  ammunition,  and  see  that  they  are  clean  and  in 
good  order.     (See  further,  chapter   xxiii.) 

That  the  men  may  always  appear  clean  on  the  parade,  and  as  a 
means  of  preserving  their  health,  the  non-commissioned  officers  are  to 
see  that  they  wash  their  hands  and  faces  every  day,  and  oftener  when 
necessary.  And  when  any  river  is  nigh,  and  the  season  favorable,  the 
men  shall  bathe  themselves  as  frequently  as  possible,  the  commanding 
officers  of  each  battalion  sending  them  by  small  detachments  succes- 
sively, under  the  care  of  a  non-commissioned  officer ;  but  on  no  account 
must  the  men  be  permitted  to  bathe  when  just  come  off  a  march,  at 
least  till  they  have  reposed  long  enough  to  get  cool. 

Every  Saturday  morning  the  captains  are  to  make  a  general  inspec- 
tion of  their  companies,  and  examine  into  the  state  of  the  men's  neces- 
saries, observing  that  they  agree  in  quantity  with  what  is  specified  in 
the  company  book ;  and  that  every  article  is  the  man's  who  shows  it. 
For  which  purpose,  and  to  discover  theft,  every  man's  things  should  be 
marked  ;  if  any  thing  is  deficient,  strict  inquiry  must  be  made  into  the 
cause  of  it ;  and  should  it  appear  to  be  lost,  pledged,  sold  or  exchanged, 
the  offender  must  be  severely  punished. 

That  the  men  may  not  be  improperly  burdened  and  fatigued,  the 
captains  are  not  to  suffer  them  to  carry  any  thing  which  is  either  use- 
less or  unnecessary. 

Chapter  twenty-one  prescribes  The  Different  Beats  of  the 
Drum. 

Chapter  twenty-two  enters  into  the  details  of  The  Ser- 
vice of  the   Guards,  and  contains  six  articles :  1.  Of  the  dit- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  209 

ferent  guards,  with  their  use  ;  2.  Of  the  grand  parade  ;  3.  Of 
relieving  guards  and  sentinels ;  4.  Instruction  to  officers  on 
guard  ;  5.  Method  of  going  and  receiving  the  grand  rounds  ; 
6.  Honors  due  from  guards  to  general  officers  and  others. 

Chapter  twenty- three  treats  Of  the  Arms  and  Ammu- 
nition, with  the  Methods  of  Preserving  them,  which  was  es- 
pecially, in  the  revolutionary  army,  of  the  highest  importance. 
We  quote  it  in  full : 

The  preservation  of  the  arms  and  ammunition  is  an  object  that  re- 
quires the  greatest  attention.  Commanding  officers  of  regiments  must 
be  answerable  for  those  of  their  regiments,  and  captains  for  their  re- 
spective companies. 

An  officer  of  a  company  must,  every  morning,  at  roll-call,  inspect 
minutely  the  state  of  the  men's  arms,  accouterments  and  ammuni- 
tion ;  and  if  it  shall  appear  that  a  soldier  has  sold,  or,  through  care- 
lessness, lost  or  damaged  any  part  of  them,  he  must  be  confined  and 
punished,  and  stoppages  made  of  his  payment  as  hereafter  mentioned  : 
For  which  purpose  such  officers  shall  certify  to  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  regiment  the  names  of  the  delinquents,  and  the  losses  or  dam- 
ages which  shall  appear  of  their  arms,  ammunition  and  accouterments ; 
and  the  commanding  officer,  after  due  examination,  shall  order  stoppa- 
ges to  be  made  for  whatever  shall  appear  to  have  been  sold,  lost  or  dam- 
aged, as  aforesaid.     The  stoppages  to  be  as  follows : 

For  a  firelock,  sixteen  dollars ;  a  bayonet,  two  dollars ;  a  ram-rod, 
one  dollar ;  a  cartridge-box,  one  dollar ;  a  bayonet-belt,  one  dollar ;  a 
scabbard,  two  thirds  of  a  dollar;  a  cartridge,  one  sixth  of  a  dollar;  a 
flint,  one  twentieth  of  a  dollar ;  a  gun-worm,  one  fourth  of  a  dollar ;  a 
screw-driver,  one  twelfth  of  a  dollar ;  and  for  arms,  accouterments  and 
ammunition  damaged,  such  sums  as  the  repairs  shall  cost  the  States,  to 
be  estimated  by  the  brigade  conductor,  or,  when  a  corps  is  detached, 
by  such  person  as  its  commanding  officer  shall  appoint  for  that  purpose ; 
provided  that  such  stoppages  do  not  exceed  one  half  the  delinquent's 
pay  monthly. 

It  is  highly  essential  to  the  service  that  the  ammunition  should  be  at 
all  times  kept  complete ;  for  which  purpose,  as  often  as  is  necessary,  a 
return  is  to  be  made  by  each  company  of  the  number  of  cartridges 
deficient,  to  the  quarter-master,  that  he  may  make  out  a  general  one  for 
the  regiment,  to  be  signed  by  the  commanding  officers  of  the  regiment 
and  brigade,  and  no  time  lost  in  supplying  the  deficiency.  The  like 
care  is  to  be  taken  that  all  deficiencies  of  arms  and  accouterments  are 
supplied  without  loss  of  time. 


210  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

All  arms,  accouterments  and  ammunition  unfit  for  service,  are  to  be 
carefully  preserved  and  sent  by  the  commanding  officer  of  each  com- 
pany to  the  regimental  quarter-master,  who  shall  deliver  the  same  to 
the  brigade  conductor,  they  respectively  giving  receipts  for  what  they 
receive.  The  arms,  accouterments  and  ammunition  of  the  sick  and 
others,  when  delivered  up,'  are  to  be  taken  care  of  in  the  same  manner. 
Before  the  cartridge-boxes  are  put  in  the  arm-chests,  the  cartridges  must 
be  taken  out,  to  prevent  any  loss  or  accident. 

A  conductor  shall  be  appointed  to  each  brigade,  who  shall  have 
under  his  immediate  care  and  direction  a  traveling  forge  and  five  or 
six  armorers,  an  ammunition  wagon,  and  a  wagon  with  an  arm  chest 
for  each  battalion,  each  chest  to  hold  twenty-five  arms,  to  receive  the 
arms  and  accouterments  wanting  repair,  or  of  the  men  sick  or  absent ; 
and  when  the  arms  delivered  in  by  a  battalion  shall  exceed  the  above 
number,  the  surplus  shall  be  sent  to  the  commissary  of  military  stores. 

The  brigade  conductor  shall  issue  no  ammunition  but  by  order  of 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  brigade ;  but  may  receive  and  deliver 
the  arms  and  accouterments  of  each  battalion,  by  order  of  its  command- 
ing officer. 

The  ammunition  wagon  shall  contain  twenty  thousand  cartridges  ; 
and  in  order  to  keep  the  same  complete,  the  conductor  shall,  as  defi- 
ciencies arise,  apply  to  the  field  commissary,  or  one  of  his  deputies,  for 
a  supply,  or  otherwise  for  the  necessary  materials  of  cartridges,  and  to 
the  major  of  brigade  for  men  to  make  them  up  under  the  direction  of 
the  conductor;  and  for  this  purpose  the  brigade  major  shall  order  out 
a  party  of  the  most  careful  soldiers. 

The  non-commissioned  officers  of  each  company  will  be  provided 
with  gun-worms ;  and  every  day,  at  the  noon  roll-call  of  the  company, 
those  men  who  have  returned  from  duty  are  to  bring  their  arms  and 
have  their  charges  drawn  ;  the  first  sergeant  to  receive  the  powder  and 
ball,  and  deliver  the  same  to  the  quarter-master. 

The  twenty-fourth  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  Treatment  of 
the  Sick.  The  twenty-fifth  and  last  chapter  speaks  Of  He- 
views  in  two  articles,  viz.,  of  Reviews  of  Parade  and  Re- 
views of  Inspection.     The  first  one  commences  as  follows  : 

When  a  battalion  is  to  be  reviewed,  it  must  be  drawn  up  in  the 
following  manner : 

The  ranks  at  four  paces  distance  from  each  other ;  the  colors  ad- 
vanced four  paces  from  the  center ;  the  colonel  twelve  paces  before  the 
colors ;  the  lieutenant  colonel  four  paces  behind  the  colonel ;  the  major 
on  the  right  of  the  battalion  in  the  line  of  officers;  the  adjutant  behind 
the  center;  the  officers  commanding  platoons  eight  paces  before  (heir 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  211 

intervals ;  and  the  other  officers  on  the  same  line,  equally  divided  in 
front  of  their  respective  platoons ;  the  sergeants  who  covered  officers 
take  their  places  in  the  front  rank  of  their  platoons;  the  other  non- 
commissioned officers  who  were  in  the  rear,  remain  there,  falling  back 
four  paces  behind  the  rear  rank;  and  the  drummers  and  fifers  are 
equally  divided  on  the  wings  of  the  battalion,  dressing  with  the  front 
rank. 

Appended  to  these  regulations  are  the  instructions  for  the 
different  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  and  sol- 
diers, viz.,  the  commandant  of  a  regiment,  the  major,  the  adju- 
tant, the  quarter-master,  the  captain,  the  lieutenant,  the  en- 
sign, the  sergeant  major,  the  quarter-master  sergeant,  the  first 
sergeant  of  a  company,  the  sergeants  and  corporals,  and  the 
private  soldier.  To  show  the  spirit  in  which  these  instructions 
were  given,  we  reprint  here  those  for  the  captain  and  the  pri- 
vate soldier : 

A  captain  can  not  be  too  careful  of  the  company  the  State  has 
committed  to  his  charge.  He  must  pay  the  greatest  attention  to  the 
health  of  his  men,  their  discipline,  arms,  accouterments,  ammunition, 
clothes  and  necessaries. 

His  first  object  should  be  to  gain  the  love  of  his  men,  by  treating 
them  with  every  possible  kindness  and  humanity,  inquiring  into  their 
complaints,  and  when  well  founded,  seeing  them  redressed.  He  should 
know  every  man  of  his  company  by  name  and  character.  He  should 
often  visit  those  who  are  sick,  speak  tenderly  to  them,  see  that  the  pub- 
lic provision,  whether  of  medicine  or  diet,  is  duly  administered,  and  pro- 
cure them,  besides,  such  comforts  and  conveniences  as  are  in  his  power. 
The  attachment  that  arises  from  this  kind  of  attention  to  the  sick  and 
wounded,  is  almost  inconceivable ;  it  will,  moreover,  be  the  means  of 
preserving  the  lives  of  many  valuable  men. 

He  must  divide  his  company  into  four  squads,  placing  each  under 
the  particular  care  of  a  non-commissioned  officer,  who  is  to  be  answer- 
able for  the  dress  and  behavior  of  the  men  of  his  squad. 

He  must  be  very  particular  in  the  daily  and  weekly  inspections  of 
his  men,  causing  all  deficiencies  to  be  immediately  supplied ;  and  when 
he  discovers  any  irregularity  in  the  dress  or  conduct  of  any  soldier,  he 
must  not  only  punish  him,  but  the  non-commissioned  officer  to  whose 
squad  he  belongs. 

He  must  keep  a  strict  eye  over  the  conduct  of  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers ;  oblige  them  to  do  their  duty  with  the  greatest  exact- 
ness; and  use  every  possible  means  to  keep  up  a  proper  subordination 


212  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

between  them  and  the  soldiers ;  for  which  reason  he  must  never  rudely 
reprimand  them  in  presence  of  the  men,  but  at  all  times  treat  them 
with  proper  respect. 

He  must  pay  the  utmost  attention  to  every  thing  which  contrib- 
utes to  the  health  of  the  men,  and  oblige  them  to  keep  themselves  and 
every  thing  belonging  to  them  in  the  greatest  cleanliness  and  order. 
He  must  never  suffer  a  man  who  has  any  infectious  disorder  to  remain 
in  the  company,  but  send  him  immediately  to  the  hospital,  or  other 
place  provided  for  the  reception  of  such  patients,  to  prevent  the  spread- 
ing of  the  infection.  And  when  any  man  is  sick,  or  otherwise  unfit  for 
duty,  or  absent,  he  must  see  that  his  arms  and  accouterments  are  prop- 
erly taken  care  of,  agreeably  to  the  regulations  prescribed. 

He  must  keep  a  book,  in  which  must  be  entered  the  name  and 
description  of  every  non-commissioned  officer  and  soldier  in  his  com- 
pany ;  his  trade  or  occupation ;  the  place  of  his  birth  and  usual  resi- 
dence ;  where,  when  and  for  what  term  he  enlisted ;  discharges,  fur- 
loughs, copies  of  all  returns,  and  every  casualty  that  happens  in  the 
company.  He  must  also  keep  an  account  of  all  arms,  accouterments, 
ammunition,  clothing,  necessaries  and  camp  equipage  delivered  his  com- 
pany, that  on  inspecting  it  he  may  be  able  to  discover  any  deficiencies. 

When  a  company  arrive  at  their  quarters  after  a  march,  he  must 
not  dismiss  them  till  the  guards  are  ordered  out,  and,  if  cantoned,  the 
billets  distributed,  which  must  be  as  near  together  as  possible ;  and  he 
must  strictly  prohibit  his  men  from  vexing  the  inhabitants,  and  cause  to 
be  punished  any  that  offend  in  that  respect. 

He  must  acquaint  them  with  the  hours  of  roll-call  and  going  for 
provisions,  with  their  alarm  post,  and  the  hour  of  inarching  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

If  the  company  make  any  stay  in  a  place,  he  must,  previous  to 
their  marching,  inspect  their  condition,  examine  their  knapsacks,  and 
see  that  they  carry  nothing  but  what  is  allowed,  it  being  a  material 
object  to  prevent  the  soldier  loading  himself  with  unnecessary  baggage. 

5jC  5fi  JfC  ?jC  Ifi  iJC 

The  recruit  having  received  his  necessaries,  should  in  the  first  place 
learn  to  dress  himself  with  a  soldier-like  air ;  to  place  his  effects  prop- 
erly in  his  knapsack,  so  as  to  carry  them  with  ease  and  convenience ; 
how  to  salute  his  officers  when  he  meets  them ;  to  clean  his  arms,  wash 
his  linen  and  cook  his  provisions.  He  should  early  accustom  himself  to 
dress  in  the  night ;  and  for  that  purpose  always  have  his  effects  in  his 
knapsack,  and  that  placed  where  he  can  put  his  hand  on  it  in  a  mo- 
ment, that  in  case  of  alarm  he  may  repair  with  the  greatest  alertness 
to  the  parade. 

When  learning  to  march,  he  must  take  the  greatest  pains  to  ac- 
quire a  firm  step  and  a  proper  balance,  practicing  himself  at  all  his 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  213 

leisure  hours.  He  must  accustom  himself  to  the  greatest  steadiness 
under  arms,  to  pay  attention  to  the  commands  of  his  officers,  and  ex- 
ercise himself  continually  with  his  firelock,  in  order  to  acquire  vivacity 
in  his  motions.  He  must  acquaint  himself  with  the  usual  beats  and 
signals  of  the  drum,  and  instantly  obey  them. 

When  in  the  ranks,  he  must  always  learn  the  names  of  his  right 
and  left  hand  men  and  file  leader,  that  he  may  be  able  to  find  his  place 
readily  in  case  of  separation.  He  must  cover  his  file  leader  and  dress 
well  in  his  rank,  which  he  may  be  assured  of  doing  when  he  can  just 
perceive  the  breast  of  the  third  man  from  him.  Having  joined  his  com- 
pany, he  must  no  longer  consider  himself  as  a  recruit,  but  as  a  soldier ; 
and  whenever  he  is  ordered  under  arms,  must  appear  well  dressed,  with 
his  arms  and  accouterments  clean  and  in  good  order,  and  his  knapsack, 
blanket,  etc.,  ready  to  throw  on  his  back  in  case  he  should  be  ordered 
to  take  them. 

When  warned  for  guard,  he  must  appear  as  neat  as  possible,  cany 
all  his  effects  with  him,  and  even  when  on  sentry  must  have  them  at 
his  back.  He  must  receive  the  orders  from  the  sentry  he  relieves ; 
and  when  placed  before  the  guard-house,  he  must  inform  the  corporal 
of  all  that  approach,  and  suffer  no  one  to  enter  until  examined ;  if  he  is 
posted  at  a  distance  from  the  guard,  he  will  march  there  in  order,  have 
the  orders  well  explained  to  him  by  the  corporal,  learn  which  is  the 
nearest  post  between  him  and  the  guard,  in  case  he  should  be  obliged 
to  retire,  or  have  any  thing  to  communicate,  and  what  he  is  to  do  in 
case  of  alarm ;  or  if  in  a  town,  in  case  of  fire  and  any  disturbance. 
He  will  never  go  more  than  twenty  paces  from  his  post ;  and  if  in  a 
retired  place,  or  in  the  night,  suffer  no  one  to  approach  within  ten  paces 
of  him. 

A  sentinel  must  never  rest  upon  his  arms,  but  keep  walking  on 
his  post.  He  must  never  suffer  himself  to  be  relieved  but  by  his  cor- 
poral ;  challenge  briskly  in  the  night,  and  stop  those  who  have  not  the 
countersign  ;  and  if  any  will  not  answer  to  the  third  challenge,  or  hav- 
ing been  stopped  should  attempt  to  escape,  he  may  fire  on  them. 

When  on  a  patrol,  he  must  observe  the  strictest  silence,  nor  make 
the  least  noise  with  his  arms  or  accouterments. 

In  action  he  will  pay  the  greatest  attention  to  the  commands  of 
his  officers,  level  well,  and  not  throw  away  his  fire ;  take  particular 
care  to  keep  his  rank  and  file,  incline  to  that  side  he  dresses  to,  and  en- 
courage his  comrades  to  do  their  duty. 

When  ordered  to  march,  he  must  not  charge  himself  with  any  un- 
necessary baggage ;  he  will  march  at  his  ease,  without,  however,  leav- 
ing his  rank  or  file  ;  he  should  drink  as  seldom  as  possible,  and  never 
stop  but  when  necessity  obliges  him  ;  in  which  case  he  must  ask  leave 
of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  platoon. 


214  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

When  arrived  at  camp  or  quarters,  he  must  clean  his  arms,  prepare 
his  bed,  and  go  for  necessaries,  taking  nothing  without  leave,  nor  com- 
mitting any  kind  of  excess. 

He  must  always  have  a  stopper  for  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  in  case  of 
rain,  and  when  on  a  march ;  at  which  times  he  will  unfix  his  bayonet. 

Seldom  was  a  work  composed  in  such  a  manner  as  this. 
Every  chapter  was  first  roughly  written  in  German,  then 
translated  into  bad  French,  then  put  in  good  French  by 
Fleury,  translated  again  into  bad  English  by  Duponceau, 
afterwards  written  in  good  English  by  Captain  Walker;  and 
when  all  this  was  completed,  Steuben  did  not  understand  a 
word  of  it  himself,  from  his  ignorance  of  the  English  language. 
His  confidence  in  his  assistants,  however,  which  was  well 
merited,  caused  him  to  proceed  successfully  amid  all  these 
troubles. 

"  The  difficulties  he  encountered  in  carrying  out  that  work 
— relates  North — were  indeed  great.  The  book-stores  were 
not  then  filled  with  military  authors  and  compilers.  All  he 
set  down  was  drawn  from  his  own  recollections  of  the  Prussian 
code  and  service  ;  these  to  be  arranged  in  order  in  which  they 
were  written,  to  be  translated  into  English,  and  by  those  not 
conversant  with  military  evolutions,  scarcely  with  military 
phrase.  To  sketch,  re-sketch  the  plates,  and  fit  them  for  the 
engraver — the  engraver,  the  paper,  the  types  and  printer,  with 
difficulty  to  be  found.  None  but  those  who  lived  in  those 
dark  days  of  poverty  and  dearth  of  every  thing,  can  think  a 
thousandth  part  of  all  the  penury  with  which  we  were  sur- 
rounded. The  Blue  Book  at  last  appeared,  and  was  studied, 
and,  except  the  Bible,  was  held  in  the  highest  estimation." 

When  the  work  was  completed,  De  l'Enfant  drew  the  plans, 
and  the  manuscript  was   sent  to  the  commander-in-chief. 

"  Enclosed  I  transmit  to  you,"  writes  Washington,  on  the 
26th  of  February,  1779,*  "  my  remarks  on  the  first  part  of 
your    manuscript.      The   remainder    shall   follow    as   soon  as 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  176. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  215 

other  affairs  of  equal  importance  will  permit.  I  very  much 
approve  of  the  conciseness  of  the  work,  founded  on  your  gen- 
eral principle  of  rejecting  every  thing  superfluous,  though,  per- 
haps, it  would  not  be  amiss,  in  a  work  of  instruction,  to  be 
more  minute  and  particular  in  some  parts." 

And  on  the  11th  of  March,  when  he  returned  the  continu- 
ation of  the  book,  accompanied  by  a  few  notes,  Washington 
wrote  to  Steuben  :* 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  learn  that  the  first  part  is 
in  such  forwardness  for  the  press.  With  respect  to  the  title, 
I  think  'Regulations  for  the  Infantry  of  the  United  States' 
will  be  sufficient.  In  a  letter  to  Congress  I  have  signified  my 
approbation  of  the  work.  It  remains  for  them  to  give  it  a 
final  sanction,  and  preface  it  with  such  order  as  they  may 
judge  proper.  As  the  fine  season  is  advancing,  you  will,  I 
flatter  myself,  shortly  have  the  satisfaction,  so  rarely  enjoyed 
by  authors,  of  seeing  your  precepts  reduced  to  practice ;  and 
I  hope  your  success  will  be  equal  to  the  merit  of  your  work." 

To  these  letters  Steuben  replied  on  the  17th  of  March, 
1779,  as  follows,  viz.  :f 

"  Your  Excellency's  approbation  of  the  regulations  I  had 
the  honor  of  presenting,  gives  me  the  greatest  hopes  that  they 
will  be  easily  reduced  to  practice,  and  prove  agreeable  to  the 
army.  Encouraged  by  this  hope,  I  shall  immediately  present 
them  to  Congress  for  their  sanction. 

"  As  I  am  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  the  regulations 
taking  place  as  soon  as  possible,  your  Excellency  may  depend 
I  shall  do  every  thing  in  my  power  for  that  purpose.  The 
engraving  of  the  plates,  and  correcting  the  press,  will,  I  am 
afraid,  detain  me  till  the  middle  of  April,  and,  as  before  that 
time  the  season  will  permit  the  troops  to  exercise,  I  think  it 
would  be  necessary  they  should  be  exercised  in  detail  on  the 
principles  laid  down.     If  your  Excellency  approves  it,  I  will 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  193. 

f  Washington  MS.  State  Papers,  vol.  xxx.,  p.  301. 


216  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

send  Colonel  Fleury,  who  has  assisted  me  in  composing  the 
regulations,  to  receive  your  orders  on  the  subject.  He  may 
carry  with  him  a  copy  of  that  part  of  the  regulations  which  is 
necessary,  and  each  adjutant  may  take  a  copy,  that  the  troops 
may  begin  to  put  them  in  practice.  I  shall  have  the  honor  to 
forward  to  your  Excellency  a  model  of  the  several  tools  men- 
tioned in  the  regulations,  and  which  I  think  are  necessary,  if 
circumstances  will  allow  to  procure  them." 

Congress  approved  Steuben's  work  without  delay  or  alter- 
ation, and  ordered  three  thousand  copies  to  be  printed,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  resolutions  of  the  29th  of  March,  1779.* 

"A  letter  of  the  25th,  from  Baron  Steuben,  was  read,  ac- 
companied with  a  system  of  regulations  for  the  infantry  of  the 
United  States  ;  also  a  letter,  from  the  board  of  war,  represent- 
ing that  Baron  Steuben,  inspector  general,  has  formed  a  sys- 
tem of  exercise  and  discipline  for  the  infantry  of  the  United 
States  ;  that  the  same  has  been  submitted  to  the  inspection  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  his  remarks  thereon,  and  amend- 
ments, incorporated  in  the  work ;  and  is  highly  approved  as 
being  calculated  to  produce  important  advantages  to  the 
States,  and,  therefore,  praying  '  that  it  may  receive  the  sanc- 
tion of  Congress,  and  be  committed  to  the  press  ;'  whereupon, 

"  Congress  passed  the  following  order,  to  be  prefixed  to  the 
said  regulation  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  troops  of 
the  United  States  : — 

"  Congress  judging  it  of  the  greatest  importance  to  pre- 
scribe some  invariable  rules  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
troops,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  a  uniformity  in 
their  formation  and  maneuvers,  and  in  the  service  of  the  camp : 

u  Ordered,  That  the  following  regulations  be  observed  by 
all  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  and  that  all  general  and 
other  officers  cause  the  same  to  be  executed  with  all  possible 
exactness. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  board  of  war  cause  as  many  copies 
*  Journals  of  Congress,  v.,  122. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  217 

thereof  to  be  printed  as  they  shall  deem  requisite  for  the  use 
of  the  troops." 

In  consequence,  however,  of  unforeseen  difficulties,  the 
printing  of  the  book  was  retarded  for  some  months,  and  it  was 
only  in  June  that  all  the  materials  were  collected,  and  the 
books  distributed.  The  embarrassments  which  the  board 
of  war  met  in  getting  the  Regulations  completed,  were  very 
great,  and  put  Steuben's  patience  to  a  hard  test.  Timothy 
Pickering  and  Richard  Peters,  however,  rebuked  him  mildly. 
Their  letters  contain,  at  the  same  time,  so  many  interesting 
materials  about  the  scarcity  of  labor  in  Philadelphia,  that  we 
can  not  refrain  from  quoting  some  passages. 

"We  expected,"  writes  Pickering,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1779,  to  Steuben,*  "to  send  you  more  copies  of  the  Regula- 
tions, of  which  the  bookbinder  gave  us  encouragement,  but  his 
workmen  failed  him.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  get  work  executed 
in  America  as  in  Europe.  Here,  under  the  present  scarcity 
of  hands,  you  can  place  no  dependence  on  your  workmen — 
to  day  they  are  with  you,  and  to-morrow  on  board  of  a  priva- 
teer, with  hopes  of  making  their  fortunes.  I  have,  indeed,  had 
much  trouble  about  the  Regulations,  but  I  went  through  it 
with  pleasure,  because  I  judged  they  would  prove  highly  use- 
ful to  my  country. 

"  I  regret  exceedingly  that  the  publication  is  so  tardy,  but 
it  has  really  been  difficult  to  get  the  work  executed  with  the 
dispatch  we  wished  for.  The  plates  were  at  first  but  indiffer- 
ently engraved,  and  being  badly  worked  off  by  Normann, 
there  were  many  of  them  intolerable.  Besides,  so  many  errors 
and  imperfections  remained  uncorrected,  that  we  were  obliged 

to  throw  away  above  six  hundred  prints The  only 

copper-plate  printer  we  could  find  after  Normann,  was  one 
who  was  working  for  the  Tieasury  at  the  same  time.  He  is 
an  excellent  hand,  and  works  off  the  plates  as  well  as  the  en- 
graving will  admit Though  we  have  employed  but  one 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 
10 


218  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

bookbinder,  he  is  the  most  capital  hand  in  town,  and  will  bind 

the  books  as  fast  as  we  can  get  the  plans  for  them I 

now  persuade  myself  that  you  will  not  think  the  board  of  war 
so  inattentive  as  your  late  letter  supposed. 

"  Should  I  again  discover  marks  of  extreme  impatience,  and 
even  asperity,  in  the  inspector  general,  I  will  impute  them  to 
his  anxiety  to  introduce  a  perfect  order  and  discipline  in  the 
army,  and  to  his  zeal  in  securing  the  safety  and  independence 
of  America." 

Peters's  letter,  of  the  same  date,  in  the  most  jovial  manner 
ridicules  Steuben's  bad  humor,  and,  in  a  jesting  way,  admin- 
isters a  very  well  merited  reprimand  : 

"I  have  been  favored  with  your  letters,"  says  Peters,* 
"  and  I  am  sorry  to  perceive  that  the  air  and  exercise  you  have 
had  since  your  leaving  Philadelphia,  wrhich,  in  general,  are  sup- 
posed of  the  greatest  efficacy  in  bilious  complaints,  have  not 
removed  those  nausea  and  exacerbation  with  which  you  were 
affected  while  in  this  city. 

"  I  have  the  strongest  hopes,  however,  that  time,  with  its 
lenient  hand,  will  administer  some  drug  wrhich  will  conquer  the 
irritability  of  your  system.  When  this  happy  day  arrives,  I 
am  clear  that  the  little  feverish  flight  which  has  induced  you 
to  censure  where  no  blame  was  merited,  will  no  longer  disturb 
your  rest,  or  hurt  the  sensibility  of  your  friends.  Colonel 
Pickering  tells  me  he  will  explain  to  you  the  difficulty  we  have 
labored  under  in  procuring  the  books ;  and  let  me  be  serious 
for  a  moment,  wrhile  I  beg  of  you  not  to  impute  to  studied 
neglect  any  seeming  inattention  to  you  or  your  officers. 

"  We  should  violate  our  private  feelings  if  we  personally 
disregarded  you,  and  we  should,  in  my  opinion,  our  public 
trust,  did  we  not,  by  every  means  in  our  power,  assist  you  in 
the  important  business  of  your  department.  Real  embarrass- 
ments have  occasioned  our  not  complying  with  our,  as  well  as 
your  wishes,  and  however  trilling  the  rubs  thrown  in  our  way 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  219 

may  seem  to  one  used  to  countries  full  of  needy  artificers,  and 
stored  with  materials  for  work,  yet  to  us  they  are  not  unim- 
portant, or,  what  is  worse,  uncommon.  These  difficulties  will 
continue  during  the  present  war,  and  as  we  can  not  conquer, 
we  must  endeavor  to  bear  them. 

"  There  is  an  actual  courage  which  distinguishes  the  soldier 
in  the  field,  and  there  is  also  a  patient  fortitude  which  we,  at  a 
distance  from  immediate  personal  danger,  have  often  occasion 
to  exercise. 

"I  am  sorry  that  carpenters,  tailors,  smiths,  wheelwrights, 

and  what  has  now  stirred  your  wrath — a  d d  bookbinder, 

who  is  not,  by-the-by,  so  much  to  blame — should  call  forth 
the  exercise  of  a  virtue  which  ought  not  to  be  thrown  forth 
but  upon  great  occasions. 

"  I  can  not  but  smile  at  your  mention  of  leaving  Duponceau, 
a  good  natured  man  and  stranger,  to  deal  with  such  surly, 
knowing,  and  great  men  as  our  tradesmen ;  and  as  to  stimu- 
lating the  workm<m  (for  workmen  we  could  not  get),  he  is  of 
no  more  use  than  if  you  had  left  him  to  observe  an  eclipse 
without  a  telescope.  You  tell  me  to  make  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  Baron  Steuben  and  the  inspector  general.  I  will 
make  another  distinction :  I  will  distinguish  between  the 
Baron  Steuben  uninformed  and  the  Baron  Steuben  acquainted 
wTith  facts  and  difficulties.  A  third  difference  I  will  observe, 
and  that  is  between  the  Baron  Steuben  in  good  humor  and 
the  same  gentleman  (zoonically)  angry  and  fretted.  You  see 
how  readily  I  observe  your  injunctions." 

As  an  evidence  of  the  absolute  want  of  the  necessary  ma- 
terials in  a  city  like  Philadelphia,  it  may  be  mentioned  here, 
that  two  copies  of  the  Regulations,  which  Steuben  had  ordered 
to  be  superbly  bound  for  General  Washington  and  the  French 
minister,  could  not  be  finished  because  the  bookbinder,  after 
searching  the  whole  city  over,  had  not  been  able  to  procure 
any  gold  leaf  for  gilding  the  books. 

Congress,  on  the  5th  of  April,  Hid,  acknowledged  Steu- 


220  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

bun's  work*  by  resolving  "that  Baron  Steuben,  inspector 
general,  be  informed  by  the  president  that  Congress  enter- 
tain a  high  sense  of  his  merit,  displayed  in  a  variety  of  in- 
stances, but  especially  in  the  system  of  military  order  and 
discipline  formed  and  presented  by  him  to  Congress." 

The  governors  of  the  different  States,  and  presidents  of 
Assemblies  also,  to  whom  Steuben  had  sent  copies  of  his  Regu- 
lations for  their  adoption  by  the  several  militias,  most  cheer- 
fully declared  that  a  great  want  was  supplied  by  his  book. 
We  quote  only  one  of  these  letters,  which  is  of  more  general 
interest. 

"I  acknowledge  myself  under  great  obligations  to  you," 
writes  Governor  William  Livingston,  of  New  Jersey,  from 
Trenton,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1 779,f  "for  your  generous  offer 
of  introducing  your  military  regulations  among  our  militia. 
The  advantages  that  will  result  from  carrying  your  proposal 
into  execution  must  be  evident  on  the  least  reflection.  Our 
militia  is  composed  of  materials  capable  of  being  formed  into 
as  good  soldiers  as  any  part  of  the  world  can  produce,  and 
disciplined  upon  your  plan,  would  certainly  constitute  the  best 
and  most  natural  defense  of  a  republican  State  against  all  hos- 
tile invasion.  It  will,  however,  be  attended  with  some  diffi- 
culty to  prevail  on  a  people  subsisting  by  agriculture,  to 
devote  a  proper  portion  of  their  time  to  this  purpose.  But 
as  the  State  is  about  raising  and  incorporating  a  corps  of 
militia  for  its  own  defense,  the  discipline  proposed  may  be 
easily  introduced  among  those  troops;  and  their  officers  being 
made  masters  of  it,  will  by  degrees  diffuse  it  through  the 
whole  State.  Whenever,  therefore,  this  body  is  raised,  I  shall 
take  the  liberty  to  apply  to  you  to  request  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  send  me  an  officer  capable  of  teaching  your  rules,  and 
giving  the  necessary  explanations.  From  a  certain  passage  in 
your  letter,  sir,  I  should  be  led  to  conclude  that  you  had  ac- 

*  Journals  of  Congress,  v.,  137. 
f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  221 

companied  it  with  a  copy  of  your  Regulations,  but  if  you  did 
I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  it. 

"  The  eminent  advantages  which  our  army  has  derived  from 
your  skill  and  industry  hi  improving  their  discipline  will,  I 
doubt  not,  be  gratefully  acknowledged  by  every  true  Amer- 
ican, and  by  none  with  more  sensibility  and  ardor  than  by  me." 
The  French  ambassador,  Mr.  Gerard,  to  whom  Steuben 
had  sent  copies  of  the  Regulations  for  the  Prince  De  Mont- 
barey  and  Count  Vergennes,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1779, 
answered,*  that  with  the  books  he  would  inform  those  per- 
sonages of  Steuben's  success,  of  which  he  had  already  given 
them  most  flattering  accounts. 

During  his  stay  at  Philadelphia  Steuben,  besides  writing 
out  his  regulations  for  the  army,  was  often  consulted  in  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  his  department.  Thus  Joseph  Reed,  pres- 
ident of  Congress,  invited  him  to  assist  in  the  survey  of  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  in  order  to  establish  better  de- 
fenses of  the  city. 

"The  season  and  weather  growing  favorable,"  writes  Reed, 
on  the  21st  of  February,  1779,|  "to  attend  to  the  defense  of 
the  river  and  city,  I  shall  take  it  as  a  particular  favor  if  you 
wo'uld  accompany  me  on  this  service  this  week. 

"It  is  proposed  to  cross,  with  our  horses,  at  Gloucester 
Point  on  Tuesday  morning,  if  the  weather  will  admit,  and  to 
proceed  thence  to  Redbank  and  Billingsport,  crossing  over 
thence  to  Mudisland  and  the  Pennsylvania  shore,  so  as  to 
complete  the  whole  survey  before  we  return  to  town  again. 

"As  your  good  judgment  and  experience  may  suggest 
remedies  for  former  defects,  and  perhaps  some  new  measures 
for  the  greater  security  of  this  important  city,  I  hope  you  will 
not  find  any  inconvenience  in  devoting  two  or  three  days  to 
so  valuable  a  purpose." 

Steuben,  after  having  finished  his  work,  prepared  to  join 
the  main  army,  which  was  then  in  winter  quarters  at  Bound- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i.  f  Ibidem.     Spraguc. 


222  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

brook  and  Middlebrook.  Before  leaving  Philadelphia  he  pro- 
posed an  indemnification  for  the  officers  who  had  assisted  him 
in  his  work,  and  asked  a  thousand  dollars  for  Colonel  Fleury, 
eight  hundred  dollars  for  Captain  Walker,  six  hundred  dollars 
for  Captain  De  l'Enfant,  and  four  hundred  dollars  for  Mr. 
Duponceau,  all  of  which  were  granted.  lie  addressed  this 
application  to  the  board  of  war,  at  that  time  composed  of 
Messrs.  Peters  and  Pickering. 

"I  can  not  refrain,"  says  Steuben,*  "from  relating  an 
anecdote  in  this  place,  which  has  since  caused  me  as  much 
mirth  as  it  at  first  irritated  and  annoyed  me.  Although  the 
board  of  war  was  only  composed  of  Peters  and  Pickering, 
there  was  always  a  member  of  Congress  who  took  part  in 
their  deliberations.  At  this  time  it  was  Mr.  Root,  of  Connec- 
ticut, who  filled  this  office.  I  came  one  day  to  the  war  office, 
probably  at  the  time  when  they  were  deliberating  how  they 
should  reimburse  me  for  the  expense  I  had  been  at  while  em- 
ployed preparing  my  work.  Mr.  Root  asked  me  how  many 
copies  of  it  had  been  printed  ?  I  said  three  thousand.  '  How 
many,'  he  replied,  '  shall  you  require  for  the  officers  of  the 
army?'  'About  eighteen  hundred,'  was  my  answer.  'There 
will  therefore  be  twelve  hundred  left  over,'  said  Mr.  Root ; 
4  the  book  will  sell  well.'  He  then  made  a  calculation  in  an 
under  tone,  and  resumed — 'But  you  could  sell  the  remaining 
copies,  and  that  would  pay  your  expenses  while  in  town.'  If 
I  had  not  remarked  that  Mr.  Peters  bent  his  head  and  blushed 
at  hearing  this  proposal,  I  should  certainly  have  told  1  hem  my 
mind  in  pretty  strong  language.  For  a  long  time  I  did  not 
utter  a  word ;  at  last  I  rose  and  said  to  Mr.  Root  that  I 
was  the  more  astounded  at  his  proposition  as  I  had  not 
asked  for  any  reimbursement  of  my  expenses  out  of  the  public 
money." 

On  the  26th  of  March,  1779,  Steuben  hastened  to  join  the 
army  in  New  Jersey. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Steuben  puts  mis  Theory -in  Practice.— He  reviews  the  Troops  and  forms  the 
Battalions  on  a  fixed  Standard —He  creates  Light  Infantry.— Its  Im- 
portance in  the  War  and  its  Adoption  in  Europe.— Dr.  Thacher's  Descrip- 
tion of  Steuben's  Reviews,  and  North's  Remarks  about  the  Inspection- 
Movements  of  the  Army.— Storming  and  Capture  of  Stony  Point.— Attack 
with  the  Bayonet.— The  Army  begins  to  understand  the  Value  of  the 
Bayonet.— Waane's  Monument.— Letter  of  Ex-President  Pierce.— Steuben's 
Opinion  about  the  Situation  of  the  American  Army  after  the  Capture  of 
Stony  Point.— Correspondence  between  Gerard  and  Steuben.— Their  high 
Opinion  of  the  Gallantry  of  Wayne  and  Fleury.— Steuben  accompanies  the 
French  Ambassador  into  the  Camp.— He  acts  here,  as  on  later  Occasions, 
as  Master  of  Ceremonies.— Hamilton's  Letter.— Steuben  in  West  Point.— 
His  official  Duties  described  by  Duponceau— His  Popularity  among  the 
Soldiers.— His  Letter  to  Franklin.— The  American  Soldiers  take  the  middle 
Ground  between  the  Pope's  Troops  and  the  Prussians,  i.  e.,  the  worst  and 

THE  BEST  OF  THE  TlME.— WlNTER  QUARTERS  AT  MoRRISTOWN.— STEUBEN  ENJOYS 
THE    ENTIRE    CONFIDENCE    OF    OFFICERS    AND     SOLDIERS.— TlIE     AliMY     CONVINCED    OF 

THE  Necessity  OF  Steuben's  Reforms— His  financial  Difficulties.— Washing- 
ton's Letter  to  Congress  in  regard  to  them.— Narrow-mindedness  of  the 
native  Officers.— Smai.lwood  and  Baron  De  Kalb.— Steuben  receives  a 
small  Loan  from  Boudinot.— He  applies  repeatedly  to  Congress  either  for 
Support  or  for  his  Discharge.— Walker's  Apprehensions  on  account  of 
Steuben's  Irritation.— Congress  resolves  to  pay  him  Two  Hundred  and  Fifty 
Louisdors. 

STEUBEN  made  no  delay  in  putting  his  theory  into  practice. 
He  reviewed  all  the  regiments,  and  ordered  the  introduction 
Of  the  system  of  maneuvers  contained  in  the  Regulations.  He 
was  most  particular  about  the  formations  in  battalions,  and  if 
the  strength  of  a  regiment  was  not  sufficient  to  form  a  battal- 
ion, he  joined  to  it  another  regiment  equally  weak,  so  that  both 
might  form  a  battalion,  and  if  this  was  impracticable,  he  formed 
it  into  two  divisions.  In  this  way  the  number  of  a  battalion 
signified  a  certain  number  of  men,  by  which  it  was  easy  to 
form  an  estimate  of  their  force,  and  to  maneuver  troops.  Con- 
gress, by  its  resolution  of  the  9th  of  March,  1779,  had  fixed  the 
effective  strength  of  the  infantry  at  eighty  battalions,  each  of 


224  LITE     OF     STEUBEN. 

which,  according  to  the  resolution  of  the  27th  of  March,  1778, 
had  to  number  four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  privates,  so 
that  the  whole  infantry  would  have  consisted  of  thirty-eight 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  But  as  Congress  had 
no  power  to  command,  and  could  only  make  recommendations 
to  the  different  States,  scarcely  one  half  of  this  number  was 
ever  under  arras. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  correct  statement  of 
the  strength  of  the  southern  army,  but  without  doing  injustice 
to  the  South,  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  matters  stood 
much  worse  there  than  in  the  North,  because  the  South  was 
more  vehemently  divided  in  itself,  and  less  enthusiastic  than 
the  North.  On  the  other  hand  we  find,  in  the  Steuben  Pa- 
pers, the  strength  of  the  principal  army  exactly  stated. 

General  Washington's  army,  at  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1779,  consisted  of  six  divisions,  of  two  brigades  each, 
numbering  in  all  eleven  thousand  and  sixty-seven  men — forty- 
six  regiments.  These  regiments  had  from  one  hundred  and 
fifty  (seventh  Virginia)  to  four  hundred  and  thirty  (sixth  Con- 
necticut) rank  and  file.  Steuben  selected  from  each  regiment, 
in  proportion  to  its  strength,  a  number  of  picked  men,  to  form 
eight  light  infantry  companies,  and  then,  where  they  were  too 
weak,  united  the  regiments  in  one  battalion.  Thus  the  whole 
army  consisted  of  thirty-five  battalions  (nine  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-five  men),  making  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  the  average  strength  of  each  battalion,  and  the  eight 
companies  of  light  infantry  before  mentioned.  Each  of  the 
latter  had  one  field  officer,  four  captains,  eight  subalterns, 
twelve  sergeants,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  rank  and 
file.  The  divisions  were  severally  known  as  the  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  and 
North  Carolina. 

The  creation  and  organization  of  the  light  infantry  is  one 
of  the  greatest  services  Steuben  did  to  the  American  army. 
It  is  a  convincing  proof  of  his  talent  for  organization  ;  how  he 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  225 

turned  to  account  the  natural  advantages  which  the  Americans 
possessed  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  consequence  of 
their  riflemen  and  mode  of  lighting  in  irregular  bodies ;  and 
how  he  drilled  and  exercised  them  by  military  rules,  and 
made  them  an  important  arm  of  the  service.  By  their  en- 
gagements with  the  Indians,  the  colonists  were  accustomed 
to  isolated  and  scattering  fighting,  and  even  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  availing  themselves  of  every  advantage  of  the 
ground,  they  gained  final  success  over  the  close  masses  of  the 
enemy.  Burgoyne's  surrender  at  Saratoga  was  caused,  in  a 
great  degree,  by  this  system  of  fighting,  the  masses  of  skir- 
mishers having  decided  the  fate  of  the  day.  To  guard  against 
similar  disasters  in  future,  the  English  increased  the  number 
of  their  light  troops,  and  exercised  their  light  infantry  in 
skirmishing  and  fighting  in  extended  lines.  Lord  Cornwallis 
proved  afterward  in  the  South  how  much  an  able  general  could 
achieve  with  this  sort  of  troops.  The  great  point  now  was 
not  to  be  outdone  by  the  enemy.  The  formation  of  the  light 
infantry  companies  of  the  best  and  most  tried  soldiers,  was 
the  surest  means  of  guarding  against  this,  and  Steuben  gained 
his  object  most  completely.  Their  first  glorious  exploit  was 
the  storming  of  Stony  Point,  which  Steuben  thought  equal 
to  any  event  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  From  1780,  when 
they  were  newly  raised  and  established  on  a  more  permanent 
basis,  these  troops  were  the  model  corps  of  the  entire  army, 
and  proved  their  usefulness  and  ability  on  all  subsequent  oc- 
casions, as,  for  instance,  in  Virginia,  where  Lafayette's  soldiers 
were  the  light  infantry  which  Steuben  had  formed  and  drilled 
the  year  before. 

We  have  to  enter  more  particularly  into  the  details  of  its 
formation  in  the  history  of  the  campaign  of  1780  ;  but  it  may 
here  be  observed,  that  the  light  infantry  was  soon  transplant- 
ed from  American  to  European  soil,  and  that  the  skirmishing 
and  sharp-shooting  mode  of  fighting  was  introduced  into  Eu- 
ropean armies  in  opposition  to  the  close  lines  and  masses  still 

10* 


226  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

in  vogue  during  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Developed  and  ar- 
ranged by  master  hands,  it  replaced  the  old  system  in  the 
wars  of  1792-1815.  Frederick  the  Great,  after  careful  ob- 
servation of  what  had  taken  place  in  America,  laid  the  found- 
ation of  light  infantry,  in  the  latter  years  of  his  reign,  by  the 
creation  of  three  light  infantry  regiments,  and  the  employment 
of  several  Hessian,  Brunswick,  and  Anspach  officers,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  American  war.  His  successor  extended  the 
new  formation  in  1787  to  twenty  battalions,  under  the  name  of 
"  fusilier  battalions,"  and  gave  them  in  l788-'89  the  first  writ- 
ten regulations  on  rifle-practicing  and  skirmishing,  for  which 
the  examples  of  the  American  war  served  as  a  basis.*  Finally, 
Napoleon  brought  this  new  system  to  its  present  perfection. 

When  the  army  took  the  field,  Steuben  continued  to  re- 
view and  drill  the  troops.  Thacher  relates  how  these  reviews 
were  held,  and  his  report  may  be  inserted  here  to  give  an  ad- 
equate idea  of  the  system  which  Steuben  had  inaugurated. 

"  On  the  28th  of  May  Baron  Steuben  reviewed  and  in- 
spected our  brigade.  The  troops  were  paraded  in  a  single 
line,  with  shoulder  arms,  every  officer  in  his  particular  station. 
The  baron  first  reviewed  the  line  in  this  position,  passing  in 
front  with  a  scrutinizing  eye ;  after  which  he  took  into  his 
hands  the  muskets  and  accouterments  of  every  soldier,  exam- 
ining them  with  particular  accuracy  and  precision,  applauding 
or  condemning,  according  to  the  condition  in  wThich  he  found 
them.  He  required  that  the  muskets  and  bayonets  should 
exhibit  the  brightest  polish ;  not  a  spot  of  rust,  or  defect  in 
any  part,  could  elude  his  vigilance.  He  inquired,  also,  into 
the  conduct  of  the  officers  toward  the  men,  censuring  every 
fault  and  applauding  every  meritorious  action.  Next  he  re- 
quired of  me,  as  surgeon,  a  list  of  the  sick,  with  a  particular 
statement  of  their  accommodations  and  mode  of  treatment, 
and  even  visited  some  of  the  sick  in  their  cabins.     The  baron 

♦Gneisenau.  Erste  Abthcilung.  Rcdigirt  von  dor  Ilistorischen  Abthei- 
lung  des  General-Stabe3.    Berlin,  1S5G.    E.  S.  Mittlor  &  Solm.  8vo,  pp.  30,  31. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  227 

is  hold  in  universal  respect,  and  considered  as  a  valuable  ac- 
quisition to  our  country.  He  is  distinguished  for  his  pro 
found  knowledge  of  tactics,  his  ability  to  reform  and  disci- 
pline an  army,  for  his  affectionate  attachment  to  a  good  and 
faithful  soldier,  and  his  utter  aversion  to  every  appearance 
of  insubordination  and  neglect  of  duty.  The  Continental 
army  has  improved  with  great  rapidity  under  his  inspection 
and  review.* 

"With  what  strict  scrutiny  were  the  inspections  made," 
relates  William  North.     "  I  have  seen  the  baron  and  his  as- 
sistants seven  long  hours  inspecting  a  brigade  of  three  small 
regiments  !      Every  man  not  present  must  be  accounted  for  ; 
if  in  camp,  sick  or  well,  they  were  produced  or  visited ;  every 
musket  handled  and  searched,  cartridge  boxes  opened,  even 
the  flints  and   cartridges  counted  ;    knapsacks    unslung,   and 
every  article  of  clothing  spread  on  the  soldier's  blanket,  and 
tested  by  his  little  book,  whether  what  he  had  received  from 
the  United  States  within  the  year  was  there,  if  not,  to  be  ac- 
counted for.     Hospitals,  stores,  laboratories,  every  place  and 
every  thing,  was  open  to  inspection  and  inspected,  and  what 
officer's  mind  was  at  ease  if  losses  or  expenditures  could  not, 
on  the  day  of  searching,  be  fully  and  fairly  accounted  for? 
The  inspections  were  every  month,  and  wonderful  was  the 
effect,  not  only  with  regard  to   economy,  but  in  creating  a 
spirit  of  emulation  between  different  corps.     I  have  known 
the  subalterns  of  a  regiment  appropriate  one  of  their  two  ra- 
tions to  the  bettering  the  appearance  of  their  men,  but  this 
was  at  a  later  period  of  the  war,  when  supplies  and  payments 
were  more  ample  and  more  regular." 

The  enemy  commenced  the  campaign  of  1779  by  a  move- 
ment of  frigates  and  transport  ships  on  the  North  river.  The 
commander-in-chief  was  anxious  for  the  safety  of  West  Point, 
and  hastened  his  march  by  the  Clove,  to  arrive  there  in  time. 
But  General  Clinton  having  spent  three  days  taking  the  little 
*  A  Military  Journal,  p.  100. 


228  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

redoubt  at  Verplanck's  Point,  contented  himself  with  the  pos- 
session of  King's  Ferry,  fortified  Stony  Point,  left  a  garrison 
of  eight  hundred  men  there,  made  some  additions  to  the 
works  at  Verplanck's  Point,  left  about  four  hundred  there, 
and  then  returned  to  New  York.  The  American  army  re- 
mained on  the  hills  round  West  Point,  until  General  Wayne, 
with  twelve  hundred  light  infantry,  took  Stony  Point  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  took  the  entire  garrison  prisoners. 
An  attempt  was  made  next  day  against  Verplanck's  Point, 
but  it  was  unsuccessful.  General  Clinton  advancing,  with  al- 
most the  whole  of  his  army,  ascended  the  river  with  several 
frigates,  but  before  his  arrival  Stony  Point  was  demolished,  all 
the  wood  work  and  fascines  burnt,  and  the  American  troops 
returned  to  their  former  position.  He  withdrew  the  garrison 
from  Verplanck's  Point,  and  retired  to  New  York. 

The  engagement  at  Stony  Point  proved  the  value  of  the 
bayonet  as  an  arm.  Previous  to  this  time  Steuben  preached 
in  vain  on  the  usefulness  of  this  weapon.  The  soldiers  had  no 
faith  in  it.  The  day  of  the  attack,  General  Wayne  forbid  his 
division,  on  pain  of  death,  from  loading  a  single  musket. 
When  coming  to  the  charge,  one  soldier  fell  out  of  the  ranks 
to  load  his  musket,  and  the  officer  of  his  company  ran  him 
through  at  once.  The  attack  was  made  and  the  fort  captured 
without  firing  a  shot.  The  next  day,  Steuben  accompanied 
the  general-in-chief  to  Stony  Point.  The  moment  they  ap- 
peared, Steuben  was  surrounded  by  all  his  young  soldiers,  and 
they  unanimously  assured  him  that  they  would  take  care  for  the 
future  not  to  lose  their  bayonets,  nor  roast  beefsteaks  with  them, 
as  they  used  to  do.  Steuben  availed  himself  of  this  moment  of 
enthusiasm  for  the  bayonet  to  obtain  an  order  from  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, that  henceforth  the  bayonet  should  be  con- 
tinually fixed  to  the  muskets  on  all  occasions.  He  took  away 
the  belts  and  sheaths  from  the  men,  and  had  them  returned  to 
the  store,  with  orders  to  the  commissary  not  to  serve  out  any 
more.     By  this  arrangement  he  not  only  saved  the  expense  of 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  229 

belts  and  scabbards — very  considerable  in  itself — but  he  also 
saved  about  four  thousand  bayonets  per  annum,  in  an  army  of 
twelve  thousand  men.  Since  then,  the  drill  for  fixing  and  un- 
fixing bayonets  has  been  abolished,  and  the  bayonet  is  con- 
sidered as  essential  a  part  of  the  musket  as  the  lock. 

It  may  be  stated  in  this  connection  that,  on  the  16th  day 
of  July,  1857,  at  the  very  place  where  the  old  fort  once  stood, 
the  corner-stone  of  a  monument  was  laid,  in  honor  of  General 
Wayne.  On  this  occasion  patriotic  orations  and  toasts  were 
delivered  by  dozens,  and  all  the  revolutionary  generals  and 
officers  praised  in  the  highest  Fourth  of  July  style,  but  in  all 
these  orations  we  can  not  find  Steuben's  name  mentioned.  Mr. 
Ex-President  Pierce  says,  in  his  letter  to  the  committee,  that 
"there  was  nothing  in  the  Peninsular  war,  in  which  such 
striking  advantages  were  occasionally  gained  by  fixed  bay- 
onets and  locks  without  flints,  more  complete  in  its  plan,  dar- 
ing, and  success,  than  the  storming  of  Stony  Point 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  which  is  most  worthy  of  admiration 
— the  dashing  intrepidity  of  the  commanding  general  as  he  en- 
tered the  works,  wounded  and  bleeding,  or  the  coolness  and 
quick  military  perception  which,  Washington  says,  improved 
upon  the  plan  which  he  had  recommended." 

It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Pierce  did  not  know  that  it  wTas 
Steuben  who  taught  the  American  soldier  to  make  use  of  the 
bayonet,  and  that  Steuben's  sub-inspector,  Fleury,  shared  with 
Wayne  the  glory  of  this  grand  exploit.  Wayne  really  does 
not  lose  by  giving  to  others  their  due.  If  there  be  any  thing 
that  shows  Steuben's  noble  and  modest  character  in  its  proper 
light,  it  is  the  fact,  that  he  was  the  first  who  unreservedly  ad- 
mired the  bravery  of  Wayne  and  Fleury — that  he  was  happy 
at  the  brilliant  achievement,  and  that,  even  in  the  private 
intercourse  with  his  friends,  he  did  not  allude  to  his  indirect 
participation  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

Thus  we  find  in  the  "  Steuben  Papers"  a  very  interest- 
ing letter,  addressed  to  him  by  the  French  ambassador,  Mr. 


2'M)  h  I  9  B      OF      STEUBEN. 

Gerard.  As  all  that  relates  to  that  glorious  exploit  deserves 
to  be  preserved,  we  translate  it  here,  the  more  readily  as  it 
shows,  at  the  same  time,  Steuben's  sentiments  with  regard 
to  it. 

"Nothing  is  in  my  opinion  more  just,  my  dear  baron," 
writes  Gerard,  from  Philadelphia,  on  the  27th  of  July  1779, 
"  than  the  eulogy  which  you  bestow  upon  the  expedition  against 
Stony  Point.  Plan,  execution,  courage,  discipline,  address  and 
energy,  in  short,  the  most  rare  qualities  were  found  united 
there,  and  I  am  convinced  that  this  action  will  as  much  elevate 
the  ideas  of  Europe  about  the  military  qualities  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  the  success  .  .  .  *  had  devoted  the  talent  of  our  illus- 
trious and  amiable  general.  I  have  sent  an  express  to  Balti- 
more to  look  out  for  a  vessel  which  might  immediately  carry 
the  news  of  this  triumph  to  France.  Although  I  am  not  as 
fond  as  you  are  of  all  the  individuals  here,  the  success  of  this 
country  touches  me  as  much  as  that  of  our  own  arms.  As  to 
General  Wayne,  I  believe  that  we  both  entertain  the  same 
sentiments.  (Steuben's  letter  of  the  21st  of  July,  to  which 
this  passage  refers,  is  lost :  but  Greene  writes,  on  the  same 
da}-  to  his  wife,  that  Steuben  thought  this  gallant  action  would 
fix  the  character  of  the  commanding  officer  in  any  part  of  the 
world.)  When  you  see  him,  please  tell  him  that  nobody  re- 
gards with  more  pleasure  than  I  the  glory  which  he  is  going 
to  acquire.  The  honor  which  our  brave  and  noble  Fleury  won 
on  this  occasion  touches  me  equally,  and  I  expect  with  pleas- 
ure the  flattering  recompense  which  he  is  destined  to  receive. 
I  consider  this  brilliant  success  as  a  new  inducement  for  him 
to  stay  in  xVmerica;  he  at  least  can  not  leave  us  in  the  course 

*  Mr.  Gerard's  handwriting  is  so  excessively  difficult  to  decipher,  that  we 
could  not  read  two  words,  which  are  marked  with  periods.  It  took  us  more 
than  three  hours  to  make  out  the  hieroglyphics  of  this  short  letter.  It  is 
a  characteristic  trait  of  the  French  noblemen  of  that  day,  to  write  in  a  man- 
ner that  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  read.  This  forms  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  clear,   legible  and  bold  handwriting  of    their  American    cotempora- 


L  I  F  R      OF      ST  E  U  P>  E  N  .  23  I 

of  this  campaign.  I  am  going  to  write  to  my  court,  that  it 
may  grant  him  such  rewards  as  prove  the  interest  which  it 
takes  in  the  success  of  America. 

"  Colonel  Pickering  has  sent  me  a  copy  of  your  Regulations 
and  promised  me  six  more.  Courage,  my  dear  baron ;  those 
talents,  which  know  how  to  do  good  without  giving  umbrage 
and  causing  jealousy,  are  always  sure  to  triumph  ultimately 
over  all  obstacles.  Your  success  can  not  increase  the  attach- 
ment of  your  friends;  but  they  will  be  happy  if  they  are  cer- 
tain that  you  are  as  happy  as  you  deserve  to  be." 

Mr.  Gerard,  two  months  after  having  written  this  letter, 
left  the  country  and  was  relieved  by  Mr.  De  la  Luzerne,  who 
arrived  at  Boston  toward  the  end  of  August,  1779.  Steuben 
was  at  that  time  just  reviewing  the  corps  of  General  Gates  in 
Providence,  and  was  requested  by  the  chevalier  to  join  him  on 
his  route  to  head-quarters.  After  having  finished  his  inspec- 
tion, he  went  to  Hartford,  where  lie  met  the  French  minister, 
and  whence  they  proceeded  together  by  Wet  hers  field,  New 
Haven,  Fairfield  and  Danbury  to  Fishkill,  where  General 
Washington  had  arrived  to  receive  Mr.  De  la  Luzerne. 

"I  had  not  the  honor  of  knowing  him  before,"  says  Stfeu- 
ben  in  one  of  his  memorials ;  *  "  and  although  he  received  me 
with  the  utmost  politeness,  I  saw  that  he  knew  nothing  of  me, 
and  that  the  French  ministry  had  not  informed  him  how  it 
happened  that  I  had  come  to  this  country.  This  convinced  me 
that  they  had  sent  me  adrift  and  that  I  was  to  manage  for 
myself  as  wTell  as  I  could.  I  took  good  care  not  to  allow  Mr. 
De  la  Luzerne  to  perceive  what  I  thought,  and  mentioned 
only  incidentally  my  acquaintances  at  Versailles  and  the  way 
I  came  to  America,  and.  determined  to  play  the  part  of  an 
American  officer  who  had  no  other  protection  or  support." 

At  head-quarters  they  did  not  know  the  etiquette  to  be 
observed  to  receive  the  French  minister.  Steuben  was  there- 
fore appealed  to  as  the  person  most  likely  to  know  how  to 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 


232  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

make  the  necessary  arrangements.  He  had  thus  an  opportu- 
nity of  using  his  old  experience  as  court  marshal,  and  was 
afterward  constantly  applied  to  both  by  the  government  and 
the  foreign  ministers  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  master  of  ceremo- 
nies in  their  mutual  relations.  "Will  you  have  the  goodness," 
writes  Alexander  Hamilton,  then  adjutant  general,  On  the  5th 
of  September,  1779,  to  Steuben,*  "to  send  on  an  express  to 
the  general,  informing  him  of  the  daily  stages  which  it  is  pro- 
posed to  make  and  the  time  of  your  intended  arrival  at  camp  ? 
If  the  general  should  meet  Mr.  De  la  Luzerne  at  Fishkill, 
as  a  private  gentleman,  will  he  think  the  compliment  amiss  ? 
This  is  entre  nous :  I  see  no  impropriety  in  it ;  but  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  you  to  favor  me  with  your  opinion  on  this,  and  on 
any  other  point  that  may  occur  to  you,  avec  franchise.  At 
his  Excellency's  debarkation  at  head-quarters,  Major  Gibbs 
has  a  violent  inclination  to  make  a  little  flourish  at  the  head 
of  his  men.     Will  this  be  an  infringement  on  your  plan  ?" 

When  he  had  seen  a  part  of  the  army  and  the  works  at 
West  Point,  the  Chevalier  De  la  Luzerne  left  to  pay  his  re- 
spects to  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 

We  found  among  the  Steuben  papers  an  opinion  of  Steu- 
ben, which,  written  at  West  Point  on  the  27th  day  of  July, 
1779,  by  order  of  General  Washington,  describes  the  situa- 
tion of  the  American  army  after  the  capture  of  Stony  Point, 
and  sheds  an  interesting  light  on  the  condition  of  affairs.  It 
reads  in  the  translation  as  follows  : 

"  Our  present  situation  is  about  the  same  as  it  was  at  the 
commencement  of  this  campaign.  The  enemy  is  still  numer- 
ically superior.  Their  troops  are  better  provided  than  ours. 
They  are  better  able  to  carry  out  their  plans,  and  on  account 
of  their  ships,  they  are  masters  of  the  coast,  and  of  the  mouth 
of  the  North  river. 

"  The  taking  of  Stony  Point  was  a  great  advantage  for  our 
side.  It  has  not  only  encouraged  the  army  but  the  people. 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  233 

It  has  shown  the  enemy  that  our  generals  know  how  to  make 
a  plan,  and  that  our  officers  and  soldiers  know  how  to  carry  it 
out  with  boldness  and  precision.  It  has  delayed  the  field  op- 
erations of  the  enemy,  but  it  has  not  altogether  defeated  their 
plans. 

u  Let  us  examine  what  those  plans  probably  are.  The 
great  preparation  which  the  enemy  have  made  to  protect 
themselves  on  both  sides  of  the  river  at  King's  Ferry ;  the 
time,  labor  and  expense  they  have  employed  in  fortifying  this 
point — can  they  have  any  other  object  than  the  burning  and 
plundering  of  the  coast  of  Connecticut  ?  Would  they  have 
fortified  Stony  and  Verplanck's  Points  to  terminate  their  con- 
quests there  for  this  campaign  ?  Neither  supposition  is  at  all 
probable.  Their  plans  must  be  more  comprehensive.  Hav- 
ing fortified  these  two  points,  and  leaving  a  sufficient  garrison 
in  them,  they  are  at  liberty  to  take  the  rest  of  their  forces 
wherever  they  think  proper,  and  in  case  of  a  reverse  these 
two  points  are  a  support  for  their  troops,  and  a  harbor  for 
their  vessels. 

"  They  will  then  invade  the  country,  with  a  view  to  encour- 
aging us  to  follow  them  by  detachments,  or  with  our  full  force, 
while  they  will  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  make  an  attack  on 
West  Point,  with  three  or  four  thousand  men,  and  the  vessels 
necessary  for  their  transport.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  do 
not  allow  ourselves  to  be  drawn  from  our  present  position  by 
their  invasions,  it  is  possible  that  they  may  send  a  corps  of  five 
or  six  thousand  men,  on  either  side  of  the  river,  to  seem  to 
threaten  our  flanks,  and  to  try  to  maneuver  in  our  rear,  so  as 
to  attack  West  Point.  This,  however,  seems  to  me  very  dif- 
ficult, particularly  on  the  side  of  the  fort. 

"Whatever  means  they  may  employ,  I  am  positive  that  their 
operations  are  directed  exclusively  to  getting  possession  of  this 
post,  and  of  the  river  as  far  as  Albany.  If  this  is  not  their  plan 
they  have  not  got  one  which  is  worth  the  expense  of  a  cam- 
paign. On  their  success  depends — the  fate  of  America.  The  con- 


234  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

sequence  is,  therefore,  that  there  is  nothing  of  greater  impor- 
tance to  us  than  to  avert  this  blow.  Let  them  burn  whatever 
they  have  not  burned  already,  and  this  campaign  will  add  to 
their  shame  but  not  to  their  success.  Were  West  Point 
strongly  fortified,  supplied  with  sufficient  artillery,  ammuni- 
tion and  provisions,  and  a  garrison  of  two  thousand  men,  we 
ought  not  to  be  induced  to  take  our  forces  more  than  a  day's 
march  from  it.  To  have  the  means  of  relieving  it,  I  go 
further,  and  say,  that  our  army  should  be  destroyed  or  taken, 
before  we  allow  them  to  commence  an  attack  on  West  Point. 
"  Our  position  is  good,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  for  an 
army  inferior  in  point  of  numerical  strength.  The  enemy  can 
not  easily  turn  it.  It  is  favorable  with  regard  to  our  maga- 
zines and  the  river  transports.  If  this  ground  has  any  disad- 
vantage, it  is  that  one  post  can  not  readily  succor  another. 
Each  brigade  is  obliged  to  defend  itself;  and  for  this  reason 
it  is  absolutely  necessary,  not  only  that  the  generals,  but  all 
the  officers  should  reconnoiter  the  ground  and  all  the  roads 
and  accessible  paths.  The  right  wing,  which  extends  to  Suf- 
ferns,  is  very  advantageously  placed.  Nevertheless,  were  it 
possible  to  place  a  brigade  or  two  somewhere  between  Sufferns 
and  Fort  Montgomery,  the  enemy  would  be  compelled  to 
keep  more  men  and  ships  near  Stony  Point,  and  although  I  do 
not  think  it  advisable  to  risk  a  second  enterprise  against  the 
same  point,  I  should  wish  the  enemy  to  apprehend  it.  The 
more  of  their  forces  that  we  keep  in  check  from  this  side,  the 
less  they  will  have  to  operate  elsewhere.  Small  vidette  de- 
tachments along  this  side  of  the  river  to  Newark,  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Croton  river  as  far  as  Norwalk,  with  relays 
of  horses,  will  be  able  to  give  us  timely  notice  of  all  the 
enemy's  movements,  and  warn  the  militia  to  take  arms.  The 
harvest  is  nearly  over,  and  the  people  are  therefore  better 
able  to  take  arms  in  case  of  need.  But,  in  my  opinion,  neither 
Jersey  nor  Connecticut  ought  to  rely  much  on  the  detach- 
ments of  these  troops.     Let  us  defend   the  North  ri\cr  and 


LIFE      OF      STEUBFN 


235 


hold  West  Point,  and  the  end  of  our  campaign  will  be  glo- 
rious. 

« p#  g, — The  above  is  my  opinion  upon  the  present  con- 
dition of*  affairs.  The  arrival  of  our  ally's  fleet  on  the  coast 
would  materially  change  our  plan  of  operations." 

The  army  remained  inactive  at  West  Point,  and  the  En- 
glish equally  so  at  New  York.  "Our  troops,"  relates  Du- 
ponceau,*  "  during  this  bloodless  campaign  frequently  shifted 
their  quarters,  and  Ave  of  course  followed.  My  labor  during 
that  time  was  any  thing  but  pleasant.  The  reports  of  the 
different  corps  and  departments  of  the  army,  which  were 
called  returns,  containing  the  number  of  men,  the  quantity  of 
provisions,  clothing,  arms,  ammunition,  etc.,  were  all  sent 
to  Baron  Steuben,  as  inspector  general  of  the  army.  From 
those  documents  we  had  to  make  extracts,  and  to  frame  out 
of  them  general  returns  to  be  laid  before  the  commander-in- 
chief.  That  was  a  tedious  business.  A  more  agreeable  duty 
was  that  of  attending  the  baron  on  horseback  when  he  went 
to  inspect  the  troops.  He  was  much  beloved  by  the  soldiers, 
though  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  and  passionate  withal. 
But  there  was  in  him  a  fund  of  goodness,  which  displayed 
itself  on  many  occasions,  and  whieh  could  even  be  read  in  his 
severe  countenance,  so  that  he  was  extremely  popular.  He 
never  did  an  act  of  injustice  but  he  repaired  it,  as  soon  as  dis- 
covered, by  the  most  public  acknowledgment.  Of  this  I  have 
seen  several  instances.  The  Marquis  De  Lafayette  and  the 
Baron  De  Steuben  wrere  great  favorites  writh  the  army,  and 
were  called  by  no  other  names.  A  woman  wrent  once  to  the 
latter  to  ask  his  permission  to  call  her  child  after  him.  'How 
will  you  call  him  ?'  said  Steuben.  'Why,  to  be  sure,'  replied 
she,  '  I  '11  call  him  Baron.' 

"His  fits  of  passion  never  offended  the  soldier.     When 
some  movement  or  maneuver  was  not  performed  to  his  mind, 

*  Duponceau's  MS.   Letters.    No.   ix.,  dated  Philadelphia,  August  31, 
1837. 


23G  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

he  began  to  swear  in  German,  then  in  French,  and  then  in 
both  languages  together.  When  he  had  exhausted  hia  artil- 
lery of  foreign  oaths  he  would  call  to  his  aids,  \  My  dear 
Walker,  or  my  dear  Duponceau,  come  and  swear  for  me  in 
English — these  fellows  will  not  do  what  I  bid  them.'  A  good- 
natured  smile  then  went  through  the  ranks,  and  at  last  the 
maneuver  or  the  movement  was  perfectly  performed." 

From  West  Point,  on  the  28th  of  September,  ]  779,  Steuben 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  in  Paris  :* 

"I  take  the  liberty  of  transmitting  you  a  few  copies  of  the 
Regulations  published  last  winter  for  the  service  of  the  infan- 
try. As  this  work  has  been  under  my  direction,  I  must  let 
you  know  that  circumstances  have  obliged  me  to  deviate  from 
principles  adopted  in  the  European  armies,  such  as  the  forma- 
tion in  two  ranks,  the  weakness  of  our  battalions,  etc.  Young 
as  we  are,  we  have  already  our  prejudices  as  the  most  ancient 
nations.  The  prepossession  in  favor  of  the  British  service  has 
obliged  me  to  comply  with  many  things  which  are  against  my 
principles.  However,  we  have  now  fixed  regulations,  which 
will  at  least  produce  a  uniformity  in  the  service  ;  and  our  sys- 
tem, though  imperfect,  is  far  preferable  to  having  none. 

"  I  leave  it  to  your  other  correspondents  to  give  you  an 
account  of  the  present  state  of  our  army.  If  they  tell  you 
that  our  order  and  discipline  equal  that  of  the  French  and 
Prussian  armies,  do  not  believe  them  ;  but  do  not  believe  them, 
either,  if  they  compare  our  troops  to  those  of  the  pope  ;  and 
take  a  just  medium  between  those  two  extremes.  Though 
we  are  so  young  that  we  scarcely  begin  to  walk,  we  can  take 
already  Stony  Point  and  Paul  us  Hook  with  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  without  firing  a  single  shot.  This  is  very  premature, 
yet  we  still  have  many  weaknesses  which  bespeak  our  infancy. 
We  wTant,  above  all,  the  true  meaning  of  the  words  liberty, 
independence,  etc.,  that  the  child  may  not  make  use  of  them 
against  his  father,  or  the  soldier  against  his  officer. 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN  237 

"  I  will  say  nothing  of  our  political  affairs — these  do  not 
fall  within  my  province.  All  I  can  assure  you  of  is  that  the 
English  will  not  beat  us,  if  we  do  n't  beat  ourselves." 

In  November,  1779,  the  general-in-chief  left  a  sufficient 
force  at  West  Point  and  the  environs,  and  the  rest  of  the 
army  took  up  winter  quarters  in  the  vicinity  of  Morristown, 
in  New  Jersey,  where  head-quarters  were  established,  and 
Steuben  continued  to  perform  his  duties  in  inspecting  and  re- 
viewing the  troops.  Officers  and  soldiers  placed  the  utmost 
confidence  in  him,  and  strictly  obeyed  his  orders.  The  briga- 
diers no  longer  protested  against  his  command,  and  the  cabals 
against  him  were  at  an  end.  Two  of  the  major  generals  who 
had  made  the  first  difficulty  no  longer  belonged  to  the  army 
(Lee  and  Mifflin) ;  and  the  third  (Lafayette)  was  absent.  Steuben 
had  succeeded  in  convincing  the  army  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  his  reforms,  and  from  his  indefatigable  zeal  they  now  readily 
perceived  that  it  was  the  good  of  the  army,  and  not  personal 
ambition,  that  prompted  him  in  his  endeavors  for  the  firm  es- 
tablishment of  the  inspectorship.  He  had  made  some  progress 
in  the  English  language,  so  that  he  could  express  himself  more 
intelligibly.  Prospects  became  brighter,  and  an  ultimate  suc- 
cess certain.* 

Steuben  was,  however,  very  badly  oft*  in  a  financial  point 
of  view.  He  did  not  receive  any  pay  more  than  the  rest  of 
the  army,  and  was  often  obliged  to  buy  forage  for  his  horses 
and  food  for  his  servants.  His  own  funds  were  exhausted,  and 
very  often  he  was  in  want  of  the  greatest  necessaries. 

Washington,  to  remedy  this  injustice,  as  early  as  the  17th 
of  August,  1779,  had  laid  the  matter  before  Congress  in  the 
following  letter  :f 

u  Inclosed  is  also,"  he  says,  "  a  memorandum  of  the  money 
for  which  I  have  given  warrants  to  Baron  Steuben  in  the 
course  of  the  present  year.     It  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 
|  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  325. 


238  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

more  than  his  pay  established  by  Congress  ($2000  per  year). 
This  is  a  subject  which  embarrasses  me.  It  is  reasonable  that 
a  man  devoting  his  time  and  services  to  the  public,  and  by 
general  consent  a  very  useful  one,  should  at  least  have  his 
expenses  borne.  His  established  pay  is  certainly  altogether 
inadequate  to  this.  A  large  nominal  sum  goes  but  a  little 
way.  But  while  there  is  a  sum  fixed  by  Congress,  I  am  cer- 
tainly not  at  liberty  to  exceed  it ;  and  though  I  have  hitherto 
complied,  from  the  indelicacy  of  a  refusal  to  a  foreigner,  to  a 
man  of  high  rank,  to  one  who  is  rendering  the  most  indefati- 
gable and  beneficial  services,  yet  I  shall  be  under  the  necessity 
of  discontinuing  the  practice.  Neither  could  I  recommend 
that  a  sufficient  allowance  should  be  formally  determined  ;  for 
though  there  may  be  less  reason  to  expect  foreigners  than  na- 
tives to  make  pecuniary  sacrifices  to  this  country,  and  though 
some  of  them  may  have  no  private  resources,  so  remote  from 
home,  for  their  support,  yet  it  would  be  difficult  to  reconcile 
our  own  officers  to  a  measure  which  would  make  so  great  and 
palpable  a  difference  in  the  compensation  for  the  respective 
services. 

"  It  is  true,  the  baron,  from  the  nature  of  his  office,  will 
often  have  to  travel  from  one  part  of  the  army  to  another, 
which  will  occasion  extra  expense,  and  will  justify  an  extra 
allowance.  It  is  upon  this  principle  that  my  last  warrant  was 
granted,  as  he  was  just  setting  out  on  a  journey  to  Providence 
But  perhaps  the  best  mode  to  enable  the  baron,  and  others 
in  his  situation,  to  defray  their  necessary  expenses  in  the  ser- 
vice, may  be  to  invest  the  board  of  war  with  a  discretionary 
power  to  grant  such  sums,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  shall 
judge  reasonable,  and  proportioned  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  persons." 

Congress,  however,  for  more  than  six  months,  did  not  act 
agreeably  to  these  suggestions,  and  things  became  the  worse 
for  Steuben,  as  Washington  could  not  continue  issuing  war- 
rants for  him.     Another  great  inconvenience  was,  that  while 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  239 

the  officers  belonging  to  particular  States  sometimes  received 
small  sums  from  their  respective  States,  those  who  were  not 
so  situated,  got  nothing.  Steuben  was  not  the  only  person 
who  was  treated  in  this  way. 

We  find  an  interesting  and  significant  instance  of  the  mode 
in  which  foreign  officers  were  treated,  and  in  which  Baron  De 
Kalb  was  even  subjected  to  insult  by  a  subordinate  officer.* 
De  Kalb  commanded  the  army  of  Maryland,  in  which  General 
Smallwood  was  brigadier.  The  State  sent  a  leather  chest, 
containing  coffee,  brandy,  etc.,  for  the  use  of  the  officers. 
Brigadier  Smallwood  put  a  guard  on  the  chest,  with  orders 
not  to  give  out  the  smallest  thing  to  General  De  Kalb,  or  to 
his  order — the  same  De  Kalb  who  was  soon  afterward  killed 
for  the  benefit  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  as  well  as  the  other 
States.  Steuben's  situation  was  similar  to  that  of  Mr.  De  Kalb 
and  all  the  foreign  officers.  They  belonged  to  the  continent 
at  large,  which  was  the  same  as  belonging  to  nobody.  When 
Steuben  entered  his  winter  quarters  at  Morristown,  he  re- 
ceived neither  rations  for  his  servants  nor  forage  for  his  horses. 
He  could  not  even  get  a  payment  on  account  in  paper  money. 
Without  funds  or  credit,  his  situation  was  extremely  disagree- 
able, and  if  Mr.  Boudinot,  formerly  member  of  Congress,  had 
not  had  the  kindness  to  lend  him  a  proportionally  small  sum, 
he  would,  in  fact,  have  been  reduced  to  starvation.  To  put 
an  end  to  this  misery,  Steuben  asked  from  Congress  either  an 
increase  of  his  pay,  adequate  to  meet  his  expenses  while  on 
duty,  or  his  dismissal.  On  the  7th  of  March,  1780,  Congress 
allowed  him  two  hundred  and  fifty  louisdors  for  reimburse- 
ment of  his  expenses  in  coming  to  America,  but  took  no  meas- 
ures to  comply  definitely  with  his  wishes. f  These  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  louisdors  (a  $3.83)  were  paid  to  him  in  bills  of 
exchange,  which  he  negotiated  at  a  discount  of  forty  per  cent. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.     Sprague. 

f  Resolutions,  Acts  and  Ordei'3  of  Congress,  vol.  vi.,  p.  39.    C.  Dunlap's 
edition. 

6 


240  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

"  Your  intention  of  quitting  us,"  writes  Colonel  Benjamin 
Walker,  on  the  10th  of  March,  1780,  to  Steuben,*  "  can  not 
but  give  me  much  concern,  both  as  an  individual  and  as  a 
member  of  the  commonwealth,  convinced  as  I  am  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  your  presence  to  the  existence  of  order  and  disci- 
pline in  the  army.  I  can  not  but  dread  the  moment  when 
such  event  shall  take  place,  for  much  am  I  afraid  we  should 
again  fall  into  that  state  of  absolute  negligence  and  disorder 
from  which  you  have  in  some  measure  drawn  us.  However,  I 
hope  Congress  will  so  far  see  the  interest  of  the  country  as  to 
make  your  stay  among  us  consistent  with  your  regard  to  your- 
self." 

Although  by  the  above  act  Steuben's  absolute  wants  were 
provided  for,  there  was  no  definite  provision  made  for  the 
extra  expenses  of  his  peculiar  office,  nor  was  there  any  fixed 
arrangement  by  which  he  could  guide  himself  for  the  future. 
He  nevertheless  remained  convinced  that  the  faithful  and  dili- 
gent performance  of  his  duty  would  suggest  to  Congress  the 
absolute  justice  of  performing  theirs. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  voL  L 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Steuben,  by  order  of  Washington,  goes  to  Philadelphia,  to  propose  to  Con- 
gress the  Adoption  of  new  Laws  for  the  Re-formation  of  the  Army. — Cor- 
respondence with  the  General-in-Chief,  the  Board  of  "War,  and  Congress, 
from  January  to  April,  1780.— Very  important  Results  abutted  at.— Re- 
formation of  the  Army. — Steuben's  Proposals  finally  adopted. — A  Commit- 
tee of  Three  appointed  to  go  to  Head-Quarters. — Reforms  introduced  in 
September  and  October,  17S0. — Steuben  accompanies  the  French  Ambassador 
to  Camp. — Maneuver  in  Honor  of  the  Latter. — Washington's  Order  of  the 
Day. 

f  POWAKD  the  end  of  January,  1780,  when  it  became  neces- 
-L  sary  to  prepare  for  the  next  campaign,  Washington  or- 
dered Steuben  to  Philadelphia,  to  propose  to  Congress  the 
adoption  of  certain  laws  for  the  formation  of  the  army  on  a 
more  permanent  and  efficient  basis.  This  mission  involved  the 
vital  question  of  the  real  existence  of  the  army,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  the  insufficient  recruiting  system,  and  the  expiration 
of  the  term  of  a  large  portion  of  the  soldiers,  was  about  to  lose 
almost  one  third  of  its  strength,  when  not  even  one  man  could 
be  spared  on  the  eve  of  a  new  campaign. 

The  transactions  which  Steuben  had  on  the  one  hand  with 
Washington,  and  on  the  other  with  the  board  of  war  and  Con- 
gress, form  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  -war, 
and  have  never  before  been  completely  published.  Having 
access  to  all  the  important  letters  which  refer  to  this  mission, 
we  think  it  best  to  communicate  them  here,  unabridged  and  in 
their  original  form.  They  give  the  entire  narrative  of  the  pro- 
ceedings and  require  neither  comment  nor  additions.* 

*  Wo  found  Steuben's  draft  and  copying-book  for  1780  among  the  Walker 
Papers,  in  tho  possession  of  Charles  A.  Mann,  Esq.,  in  Utica,  who  has  since 
presented  all  that  relates  to  Steuben  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 

11 


242  L I  V  K     OF     STEUBEN. 

"  Having  arrived  here,"  reports  Steuben  to  Washington, 
from  Philadelphia,  the  26th  of  January,  1780,  "on  the  night 
of  the  22d  instant,  I  delivered,  next  day,  early  in  the  morning, 
your  Excellency's  letter  to  the  president  of  Congress,  and  I 
am  informed  but  to  day  that  the  board  of  war  is  charged  to 
confer  with  me  on  the  present  state  of  the  army.  I  do  not  know 
as  yet  what  this  conference  will  tend  to.  There  is  a  talk  of  a 
committee  being  to  repair  to  camp,  in  order  to  give  a  new 
formation  to  our  army.  It  is  spoken  likewise  of  incorporat- 
ing forty-one  regiments,  but  I  really  believe  that  nothing  is 
yet  determined  upon  this  subject. 

"  The  minister  of  France  has  communicated  to  me  that  he 
is  on  the  point  of  asking  Congress  what  means  they  intend  to 
employ  for  the  operations  of  the  next  campaign,  that  he  may 
give  notice  to  his  court,  and  to  the  chiefs  of  squadrons  to  make 
their  arrangements.  He  has  given  me  certain  assurances  that 
we  may  reckon  on  the  arrival  of  a  French  fleet  upon  our  coast, 
in  case  we  are  able  to  cooperate  on  our  side.  He  has  told  me 
he  has  sent  his  opinion  to  your  Excellency  on  the  subject  of 
the  cartel  proposed  by  the  enemy. 

"  Wednesday,  the  26th  instant. — I  have  just  received  an 
order  from  the  board  of  war  to  attend  at  their  office  to- 
morrow at  six  o'clock,  p.  m. 

"  Some  gentlemen  in  Congress,  and  especially  the  east- 
ern members,  appear  extremely  well  disposed  to  reinforce 
the  army  for  the  next  campaign,  and  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  promote  vigorous  operations.     There  are  indeed  different 

where  it  can  now  be  found.  Wo  are  under  more  than  ordinary  obligations 
to  this  gentleman  for  his  kind  permission  to  peruse  and  use  these  papers. 
They  were  chiefly  dictated  by  Steuben,  and  corrected  by  North  and  Fairlie. 
T hat  they  were  correctly  copied  from  the  original  drafts,  is  proved  by  the 
letter  of  the  28th  of  March,  1780,  which  is  published  by  Sparks,  in  volume 
ii.  of  the  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  and  by  two  or  three  others,  which 
we  found  and  compared,  in  the  Washington  State  Department.  Here  wo 
were  unable  to  compare  them  all,  as  we  were  suddenly  interrupted  in  the 
perusal  of  the  State  Papers,  further  access  to  them  being  forbidden  to  u.s  by 
the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  243 

schemes  proposed,  but  I  shall  not  contradict  any,  provided  we 
have  an  army. 

"  Thursday,  the  27th  instant. — I  have  delivered  to  the 
board  of  war  the  returns  of  the  infantry,  and,  as  far  as  I  could, 
I  have  acquainted  them  with  the  state  of  our  army.  I  am 
desired  to  give  without  delay  my  opinions  of  the  preparations 
that  are  to  be  made  for  the  next  campaign." 

The  memorial  itself  which  Steuben  delivered  to  the  board 
of  war,  ou  the  28th  of  January,  1780,  reads  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  The  incomplete  state  and  extreme  inequality  of  our  reg- 
iments of  infantry  against  all  good  order  and  regular  forma- 
tion, induced  me  last  campaign  to  present  to  his  Excellency, 
the  commander-in-chief,  a  plan  of  formation  for  an  order  of 
battle,  in  which  I  joined  twTo  and  three  regiments  together,  in 
order  to  form  a  single  battalion  according  to  the  regulations. 
In  consequence  of  this  formation,  the  army,  under  General 
Washington,  was  divided  into  thirty-five  battalions,  and  eight 
battalions  of  light  infantry. 

"  Although  such  an  arrangement  was  very  necessary,  yet 
it  was  very  difficult  to  bring  the  commanding  officers  of  reg- 
iments to  agree  to  it.  The  one  insisted  on  the  strength  of  his 
corps,  the  other  on  the  older  date  of  his  commission,  and  both 
claimed  the  commandment-in-chief  of  the  battalion.  Hence 
several  representations,  on  the  part  of  the  officers,  were  pro- 
duced, which  were  accommodated  but  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty by  the  commander-in-chief  and  myself. 

"  The  formation  of  eight  battalions  of  light  infantry  met 
with  no  less  obstacles,  and  excited  no  fewer  clamors.  Some 
regiments  complained  of  furnishing  too  much,  others  of  not 
furnishing  enough.  This  arrangement  was,  however,  finally 
adopted  ;  the  eight  battalions  of  light  infantry  were  formed, 
and  when  under  arms  the  regiments  were  formed  into  battal- 
ions. 

"Although  this  formation  was  extremely  defective,  yet  it 
was  the  only  one  which  we  could  adopt.     The  arrival  of  the 


244  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

nine  months'  recruits  from  New  England  brought  disorder 
into  it,  in  the  midst  of  the  campaign.  But  now  it  is  totally 
subverted  by  the  diminution  of  about  five  thousand  men, 
whose  enlistment  expires  before  the  beginning  of  next  cam- 
paign. Some  regiments  will  be  so  diminished  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  join  four  or  five  together  to  form  a  battalion, 
others  will  be  almost  reduced  to  nothing ;  few  are  strong 
enough  to  form  a  battalion  for  themselves.  Hence  there  will 
be  very  weak  battalions  with  twelve  field  officers  at  their  head, 
whilst  others,  of  the  same  strength,  will  perhaps  have  but  one. 
To  remedy  this  evil  I  know  of  but  two  means :  that  of  re- 
ducing the  officers  and  incorporating  the  regiments,  and  that 
of  completing  them.  The  first  will  be  dangerous  and  impol- 
itic, and  the  latter  impossible.  If  we  reduce  the  number  of 
regiments  in  the  midst  of  the  war,  we  shall  show  the  enemy 
that  we  are  not  able  to  maintain  our  army  on  the  present  foot- 
ing. 

"  The  re-formed  officers,  even  in  preserving  their  appoint- 
ment and  rank,  will  be  disgusted  at  the  service,  and  I  fear  we 
shall  lose  thereby  a  number  of  good  and  brave  officers. 

"  If  we  preserve  their  rank  to  restore  them  to  their  com- 
mands in  case  of  vacancies,  we  shall  justly  often d  those  who 
will  remain,  for,  supposing  that  a  regiment  loses  several  offi- 
cers in  action,  it  would  be  hard  for  those  who  have  run  all  the 
dangers  to  be  superseded  by  those  who  have  been  all  the 
while  enjoying  their  rank  and  appointments  in  the  midst  of 
their  families  and  connections.  I  dare  say  that  the  only  pro- 
posal of  an  incorporation  will  disgust  most  of  our  officers,  and  I 
apprehend  produce  the  most  fatal  consequences.  To  complete 
the  regiments  is  an  enterprise  impossible  to  the  United  States  ; 
and  supposing  even  that  we  might  find  a  sufficient  number  of  re- 
cruits, we  would  then  have  so  disproportionate  an  army  that 
it  would  be  out  of  the  power  of  the  States  to  maintain 
it.  The  regiments  of  infantry  alone  would  amount,  accord- 
ing to  the  establishment,  to  near  forty-two  thousand,  rank 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  245 

and  file  ;  add  to  this  three  thousand  cavalry,  two  thousand 
artillery,  and  at  least — for  the  proportion  of  such  an  army — 
six  thousand  men  for  the  train  of  the  army,  artificers,  etc.,  and 
then  the  army  will  amount  to  fifty-three  thousand  privates, 
without  including  the  officers,  whose  number  must  amount  to 
between  five  and  six  thousand,  which  will  make  about  fifty- 
eight  thousand  men.  And  even  supposing  the  States  should 
not  have  all  the  necessary  means  to  form  an  army,  it  would 
be  ridiculous  to  keep  up  a  force  so  superior  to  that  we  have 
to  oppose.  Thus  it  appears  to  me,  that  speaking  of  complet- 
ing the  regiments,  is  speaking  of  an  absolutely  ill  calculated 
scheme.  If  I  am  asked  what  means  I  would  then  propose,  I 
will  answer,  that  I  think  we  must  form  our  army  on  a  number 
proportionable  to  the  abilities  of  the  States  and  the  operations 
we  have  to  undertake.  The  first  object  requires  an  exact  cal- 
culation on  the  part  of  our  legislators,  who  are  best  acquainted 
with  the  abilities  of  the  different  States.  In  this  calculation 
it  is  not  only  necessary  to  determine  the  number  of  men  that 
can  be  assembled,  but  likewise  the  means  of  arming,  paying, 
clothing  and  otherwise  supporting  them. 

"  The  next  is  to  determine  whether  we  intend  to  act  with 
vigor  in  an  offensive  campaign,  or  if  we  mean  to  protract  the 
war  by  acting  defensively  and  wraiting  for  the  issue  of  events. 
In  both  cases  our  army  must  be  reinforced,  more  or  less,  for 
such  as  it  is  it  can  not  anyhow  stand  another  campaign.  Be- 
sides, we  must  determine  on  a  regular  formation,  and  adopt 
some  particular  system. 

"  In  order  to  oppose  our  enemies  in  the  North  and  in  the 
South,  and  act  offensively  against  them,  our  army  ought  to  be 
considerably  augmented,  and  sufficiently  provided  with  all  the 
necessaries  for  next  campaign.  In  order  to  know  to  what 
number  the  army  ought  to  amount  to  serve  that  object,  the 
general  who  commands  it  and  directs  its  operations  ought  to 
determine. 

"  I  will,  however,  venture  to  give  here  my  opinions  whioh  I 


240  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

submit  to  the  examination  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  the 
approbation  of  Congress. 

"Before  I  enter  upon  my  calculations,  I  will  observe  that 
among  the  number  of  men  I  include  only  the  fighting  men  in 
rank  and  file,  without  including  even  the  officers,  sergeants, 
drummers,  etc.,  and  still  less  the  men  employed  as  wagoners, 
artificers  or  servants,  who  are  returned  as  soldiers  and  are  not 
such  in  reality. 

"  Supposing,  then,  that  our  army  is  to  be  put  on  a  footing 
to  resist  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  in  Georgia  and  Carolina,  and 
not  only  to  oppose  their  progress,  but  to  dispossess  them  of 
what  they  have  already  conquered  : 

"That  we  wish  to  be  able  to  keep  them  close  at  the  north- 
ward, and  be  ready  at  every  instant  to  cooperate  with  a  fleet 
of  our  allies,  and  strike  a  powerful  blow  wherever  we  shall 
think  proper :  that  we  wish  to  be  able  to  fill  our  garrisons  on 
the  frontiers  and  reinforce  them  in  case  of  need : 

"  Methinks  the  following  numbers  will  be  necessary  for  this 
purpose : 

Infantry, 23,616 

Cavalry, 1000 

Artillery  and  artificers, 2000 

Train  of  artillery, 400 

Train  of  the  army, 2.952 

Including  commissaries,  quarter-masters,  )  _ 

forage  masters,  etc.,                              )   '        '        '  2J>U08 

This  force  might  be  divided  in  the  following  manner : 

THE   ARMY   UNDER   WASHINGTON. 

Infantry, 16,000 

Cavalry, 600 

Artillery  and  artificers,             1200 

Train  of  artillery, 300 

Retainers,  etc., 2000 

THE   ARMY   UNDER   GENERAL    LINCOLN. 

Infantry, 6000 

Cavalry,              400 

Artillery, 600 

Train  of  artillery, 100 

Staff,  etc., 952 


J,  I  F  E     O  F     8  T  E  U  B  E  N  ,  247 

IN   GARRISONS. 

Infantry, 1616 

Artillery,  etc., 200 

"  To  bring  up  our  army  to  these  numbers  it  is  neither  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  regiments  according  to  the  establishment 
nor  to  re-form  or  incorporate  them. 

"  Each  State  should  only  level  their  regiments — each  to 
consist  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-four  men.  They  ought 
then  to  divide  each  regiment  into  eight  companies,  and  one 
of  light  infantry.  Each  company  should  consist  of  thirty-six 
men,  out  of  whom  four  should  be  drawn  to  be  put  under  the 
quarter-master  general's  orders,  who  might  employ  them  as 
wagoners,  etc.,  and  thereby  save  the  enormous  expense  to 
which  we  are  subjected,  by  the  considerable  pay  those  wag- 
oners receive,  which  it  is  known  is  no  less  than  that  of  a  cap- 
tain of  infantry. 

"The  regiments  of  the  different  States  being  once  put  on 
this  footing  it  would  be  necessary  to  level  the  additional  regi- 
ments, among  which,  that  of  Colonel  Livingston  almost  re- 
duced to  nothing  and  without  officers,  might  be  incorporated 
to  level  the  others.  When  these  are  so  leveled  they  should 
be  joined  to  the  State  regiments,  either  by  lot  or  any  other 
arrangement,  and  completed  to  the  number  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty-four  by  the  States  to  which  they  shall  be  allotted, 
who  ought  then  to  make  them  enjoy  the  same  emoluments  as 
their  other  regiments. 

"  With  regard  to  the  rank  and  advancement  of  the  officers 
of  the  additional  regiments,  it  would  be  proper  to  preserve 
the  advancement  among  themselves,  and  to  confirm  to  the 
commander-in-chief  the  authority  which  Congress  has  granted 
him  of  disposing  of  the  advancement  of  the  officers,  and  fill- 
ing up  the  vacancies  of  the  Continental  regiments,  in  which 
there  are  a  number  of  excellent  officers. 

"  The  cavalry  ought  to  be  completed  and  remounted  in  pro- 
portion that  the  whole  may  not  exceed  one  thousand  horses. 


248  LIFE      OF      BTEUJ5EN. 

"  With  regard  to  the  artillery,  General  Knox  ought  to  be 
consulted  whether  the  number  I  have  proposed  will  be  propor- 
tioned to  his  operations.  I  have  drawn  this  proportion  from 
the  armies  in  Europe,  and  the  returns  of  that  corps  will  deter- 
mine how  many  men  will  be  necessary  to  recruit  it. 

"  It  is  the  same  with  regard  to  the  civil  departments  of  the 
staff  of  the  army.  The  chief  of  each  department  ought  to 
specify  the  number  of  men  he  has  employed,  and  how  many 
lie  thinks  he  shall  want  for  his  operations  next  campaign. 
These  returns  ought  to  be  examined  by  the  board  of  war  and 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  such  persons  as  Congress  shall 
appoint  finally  to  determine  upon  it. 

"The  numbers  of  these  corps  and  departments  being  deter- 
mined for  the  next  campaign,  the  wants  of  the  army  may  be 
easily  calculated.  With  regard  to  provisions  and  forage,  it  is 
necessary  to  reckon  on  a  third  more  than  the  totality  of  the 
army,  in  order  not  to  be  in  want.  Besides  those  magazines 
proper  for  the  immediate  subsistence  of  the  army,  we  should 
reckon  on  two  more  well  supplied. 

"  The  first  for  a  body  of  militia  of  twenty  thousand  men, 
who  will  join  us  in  case  of  an  expedition,  and  this  magazine 
ought  to  be  furnished  for  three  full  months ;  the  other  for  a 
fleet  which  our  allies  may  send  us,  and  which  should  likewise 
be  furnished  with  provisions,  and  for  three  months.  Besides, 
the  eastern  States  ought  to  establish,  in  time,  considerable 
spare  magazines,  especially  of  hard  bread  and  salt  provisions. 
The  general  of  the  artillery  must,  without  delay,  furnish  a 
return  of  what  he  thinks  he  shall  want  for  the  next  campaign, 
and  the  necessary  preparations  for  a  siege  and  bombardment 
ought  to  be  made  with  the  greatest  celerity. 

"  The  general  of  the  engineers  shall  furnish  a  return  of  all 
lie  wants,  utensils,  etc.,  for  the  same  purpose. 

"With  regard  to  the  clothing  of  the  army,  it  is  to  be  wished 
each  State  would  send  their  recruits  ready  clothed,  no  matter 
of  what  color,  for  next  campaign,  and  that  whatever  clothing 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  249 

the  States  shall  collect  or  receive  from  France,  should  be  all 
stored  up,  not  to  be  delivered  till  when  the  campaign  is  over. 

"  But  the  most  essential  matter  is  to  provide  ourselves  with 
at  least  ten  thousand  stand  of  arms  against  the  beginning  of 
May  next,  without  reckoning  on  those  which  are  expected 
from  France.  It  is  the  least  number  we  may  want  in  case  the 
army  is  formed  agreeably  to  the  present  plan. 

"  The  more  difficult  it  is  to  make  the  above-mentioned  regu- 
lations, the  more  the  moments  are  precious,  and  the  more  ne- 
cessary it  is  to  do  our  utmost  efforts  to  effect  them.  We  are 
already  at  the  end  of  January.  If  the  recruits  have  not  joined 
the  regiments  by  the  1st  of  April,  the' expense  and  trouble  of 
assembling  them  shall  avail  nothing. 

"If  the  magazines  are  not  supplied  for  seven  months  against 
the  harvest,  the  army  is  lost.  If  we  can  not  have  at  least  ten 
thousand  stand  of  arms  before  the  recruits  join,  the  men  will 
become  useless. 

"  I  make  no  doubt  of  a  vigorous  campaign  being  carried  on 
in  Europe.  I  doubt  still  less  of  our  allies  assisting  us  effica- 
ciously on  this  continent.  It  would  be  unhappy  if  we  could 
do  nothing  on  our  side  at  such  favorable  instants. 

"  Our  late  disappointment  at  the  southward  should  strike 
us:  two  thousand  men  more  under  the  orders  of  General  Lin- 
coln would  have  insured  us  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  in  Geor- 
gia, and  we  would  now  have  no  fatal  consequences  to  appre- 
hend on  that  side. 

"I  can  not  forbear  of  observing  here  that  most  of  the  indi- 
viduals of  this  continent  are  tired  with  the  present  war.  I 
wish  this  consideration  may  induce  us  to  do  our  utmost  to 
bring  it  to  a  happy  termination  in  one  glorious  campaign." 

Steuben  informed  Washington  of  the  delivery  of  the  me- 
morial on  the  29th  of  January,  1780,  in  the  following  note  : 

"  1  delivered  yesterday  to  the  board  of  war,  the  annexed 
memorial.  It  is  only  a  general  calculation,  which  requires  a 
more  exact  examination.     The  Hon.  Mr.  Livingston,  a  men> 

11* 


250  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

ber  of  Congress,  was  deputed,  on  their  part,  to  the  board. 
He  communicated  the  answer  of  your  Excellency  on  the 
scheme  of  incorporating  the  regiments. 

"  If  any  thing  should  induce  me  to  advise  an  incorporation, 
it  would  be  the  vacancies  of  officers,  which  I  know  not  how 
to  fill.  I  fear,  however,  it  will  produce  a  great  deal  of  discon- 
tent and  other  ill  consequences. 

"  Mr.  Peters  proposed  to  put  off  all  arrangement,  and  to 
consider  in  this  moment  only  the  number  of  men  which  the 
respective  States  are  to  furnish  for  the  next  campaign.  The 
number  of  infantry  which  I  proposed  in  my  memorial  was  ad- 
mitted. I  represented,  however,  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  add  forty  men  more  to  each  regiment,  on  account  of  the  di- 
minution which  may  happen  from  this  time  to  the  beginning  of 
next  campaign.  Mr.  Livingston  objected  to  the  number  of 
cavalry  which  I  proposed,  on  account  of  the  impossibility  of 
mounting  it.  This  consideration  was,  however,  suspended,  not 
to  defer  the  simple  calculation  of  the  men. 

"  Sunday,  30. — I  have  received  an  order  from  the  board 
of  war  to  procure,  without  any  delay,  the  returns,  the  list  of 
which  is  here  inclosed.  I  beg,  sir,  you  will  interpose  your 
authority,  that  these  returns  may  be  transmitted  immediately. 

"  It  appears  indispensably  necessary  to  prohibit  the  distri- 
bution of  the  arms,  cartridges,  etc.,  until  the  quantity  now  in 
the  regiments  and  magazines  is  well  known  and  ascertained. 

"  I  beg,  dear  general,  you  will  let  me  know  your  opinion 
of  the  proportion  for  an  army,  which  you  will  find  in  my  me- 
morial, as  I  wish  to  act  solely  by  your  Excellency's  direction. 
Be  pleased,  sir,  to  honor  me  with  your  confidence,  and  be  sure 
that  my  zeal  for  the  service  can  only  be  equaled  by  the  pro- 
found respect  with  which  I  am,  etc." 

Washington  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  Steuben's  let- 
ters and  memorial  in  the  following  letter,  dated  Morristown, 
the  8th  of  February  1780  :* 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  4G4. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  251 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  with  the  papers  annexed,  and 
have  carefully  considered  the  contents,  on  which  I  shall  give 
you  my  sentiments  with  freedom  and  confidence.  The  princi- 
pal point  on  which  your  memorial  to  Congress  turns,  is  the 
force  requisite  for  the  next  campaign.  To  determine  this  on 
good  grounds,  we  ought  first  to  settle  the  following  questions : 
Will  it  be  in  our  power  to  make  an  offensive,  or  must  we  con- 
tent ourselves  with  a  defensive  campaign  ? 

"It  is  not  possible  to  decide  this  question  without  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  our  resources  of  finance  than  I  at  pres- 
ent possess,  and  without  ascertaining  whether  our  allies  can 
afford  a  squadron  for  an  effectual  cooperation  on  this  continent. 
I  think,  with  vigorous  exertions,  we  may  raise  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  for  offensive  operations,  if  we  were  able  to 
maintain  them  ;  but  from  the  view  I  have  of  our  affairs,  I  do 
not  believe  the  state  of  our  treasury  will  admit  this  without 
assistance  from  abroad.  Whether  this  is  to  be  obtained,  Con- 
gress alone  can  judge.  On  the  other  hand,  from  the  particu- 
lar situation  of  the  enemy's  posts  in  this  quarter,  I  should  not 
advise  you  to  calculate  measures  on  the  principle  of  expelling 
them,  unless  we  had  certain  assurances  that  an  adequate  na- 
val force  will  be  ready  to  cooperate  with  us  through  all  con- 
tingencies. If  a  foreign  aid  of  money,  and  a  fleet,  are  to  be 
depended  upon,  I  should  then  recommend  that  all  our  dispo- 
sitions should  have  reference  to  an  offensive  and  decisive  cam- 
paign ;  and  in  this  case  I  should  ask  at  least  one  third  more  men 
than  you  estimate,  to  be  immediately  raised  by  a  general  draft. 

"  But  as  I  doubt  whether  these  two  preliminaries  can  be 
placed  upon  such  a  footing  of  certainty  as  to  justify  our  act- 
ing in  consequence,  I  imagine  we  must  of  necessity  adopt  the 
principle  of  a  defensive  campaign,  and  pursue  a  system  of  the 
most  absolute  economy.  On  this  principle,  however,  if  I  un- 
derstand your  estimate,  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  more  than 
sufficient.  When  the  deductions  for  unavoidable  casualties 
are  made,  this  number  will  give  us  less  than  twenty  thousand 


252  LIFE      OP      STEUBEN. 

for  our  efficient  operating  force.  This  is  as  little  as  we  can 
well  have  to  contain  the  enemy  within  bounds,  and  prevent 
their  making  any  further  progress.  Including  the  detachment 
which  lately  sailed  from  New  York,  they  have  near  twenty 
thousand  men  lit  for  actual  service  in  these  States ;  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  recruits  they  will  probably  send  over  to  complete 
their  battalions,  which  will  be  an  augmentation  of  force.  For 
these  reasons  I  approve  the  estimate  you  have  proposed,  as 
best  suited  to  our  present  circumstances. 

"The  number  of  cavalry  you  propose  is  in  good  proportion, 
and  in  a  military  sense  necessary.  Cavalry,  if  there  is  an  act- 
ive scene  to  the  southward,  will  be  particularly  useful  there  ; 
but  the  question  of  expense  is  a  very  serious  one,  and,  like  the 
rest,  must  be  referred  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  our 
money  resources.  Another  point  is,  whether  the  regiments 
had  better  be  incorporated  with  each  other  and  completed  to 
such  a  standard  as  will  give  the  number  of  men  required.  A 
committee  of  Congress,  as  you  have  been  informed,  sent  me 
a  proposal,  which  has  been  referred  to  their  consideration,  for 
reducing  the  number  of  battalions,  and  asked  my  opinion  upon 
it.  Though  I  was  fully  sensible  of  the  inconveniences  which 
will  infallibly  attend  a  reduction,  I  did  not  dissuade  from  it, 
principally  on  two  accounts ;  one,  a  conviction  that  the  em- 
barrassments in  our  finances  require  every  expedient  for  sav- 
ing expense  ;  the  other,  the  incompetency  of  the  present  num- 
ber of  officers  to  the  present  number  of  corps.  But  though  I 
do  not  disapprove,  I  am  far  from  being  much  attached  to  this 
plan.  Congress  can  best  balance  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages, and  determine  which  preponderate. 

"  I  sincerely  wish  that  what  you  recommend  with  respect  to 
magazines,  could  be  carried  into  execution,  but  I  fear  it  will 
be  impracticable  in  the  present  exigency.  Every  thing,  how- 
ever, that  is  possible  ought  to  be  attempted.  There  is  no  dan- 
ger of  the  magazines  exceeding  our  wants  ;  and  we  have  been 
under  dreadful  embarrassments,  through  the  whole  course  of 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  253 

the  war,  from  temporary  and  precarious  supplies.  The  arms 
ought,  at  all  events,  to  be  provided.  I  have  issued  an  order 
requiring  the  returns  demanded  by  the  board  of  war  to  be 
made  out  with  all  dispatch.  They  will  be  forwarded  as  fast 
as  they  are  collected.  There  are  some  points  of  inferior  im- 
portance in  your  memorial  which  I  approve,  but  do  not  require 
a  particular  enumeration." 

In  the  meantime  the  negotiations  with  the  board  of  war 
went  on,  as  appears  from  the  following  letters  : 

"  When  Congress,"  whites  Steuben,  on  the  5th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1*780,  "shall  have  determined  on  the  number  of  recruits 
each  State  is  to  furnish,  I  believe  it  will  be  necessary  for  the 
States  to  appoint  one  place  of  rendezvous  in  each  State,  where 
their  respective  recruits  will  assemble,  and  the  commander-in- 
chief  should  at  the  same  time  order  a  field  officer  of  each  State, 
and  a  captain,  two  subalterns  and  four  sergeants  of  each  regi- 
ment, to  repair  to  their  respective  places  of  rendezvous. 

"  In  proportion  as  the  recruits  arrive,  they  ought  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  field  officers  who,  in  presence  of  a  deputy  from 
his  State  and  a  skillful  surgeon,  must  examine  particularly 
each  man  and  determine  whether  he  is  fit  or  unfit  for  service. 
These  officers  ought  to  be  strictly  charged  not  to  receive  any 
man  above  fifty  or  under  eighteen  years  of  age. 

"  The  surgeon  ought  to  examine  whether  they  are  not  crip- 
pled or  maimed,  hunch-backed,  lame,  blind,  or  otherwise  de- 
formed, whether  they  have  no  rupture  or  fresh  wrounds,  or  any 
foul  disorder.     All  such  men  ought  to  be  absolutely  refused. 

"  No  prisoner  of  Avar,  whether  taken  on  sea  or  land,  is  to 
be  accepted.  As  soon  as  one  hundred  recruits  are  accepted, 
the  field  officer  will  command  one  captain,  twTo  subalterns,  and 
four  sergeants  to  conduct  them  to  the  army,  where  they  will 
be  delivered  to  the  inspector  of  the  division  or  brigade  to 
which  they  shall  belong,  who  will  distribute  them  among  the 
several  regiments  of  their  State.  The  field  officer  shall  con- 
duct, himself,  the  last  recruits. 


254  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

"If  you  think  this  arrangement  proper,  gentlemen,  T  be- 
lieve it  must  be  communicated  immediately  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  and  the  generals  of  the  several  States." 

And  on  the  6th  of  February,  1780,  Steuben  continues: 

"  Our  cavalry  not  being  armed  with  carabines,  nor  exer- 
cised for  the  service  on  foot,  as  the  dragoons  in  Europe,  this 
inconvenience  results,  that  they  are  ill-guarded  both  in  camp 
and  quarters.  When  it  is  somewhat  too  far  in  the  front  of  the 
infantry,  it  is  exposed  to  be  surprised,  so  that  instead  of  form- 
ing a  chain  to  cover  the  army  in  front,  the  army  is  obliged  to 
form  a  chain  for  the  security  of  the  cavalry.  Being  thereby 
at  too  great  a  distance  from  the  enemy,  our  cavalry  officers 
can  seldom  surprise  the  advanced  posts  and  patrols.  When 
they  want  to  strike  a  blow  of  partizan,  they  must  make  a 
march  that  tires  the  horses  out  before  they  are  brought  into 
action. 

"  If  our  cavalry  had  (as  the  legions  have  now  in  Prussia 
and  had  lately  in  France)  a  certain  number  of  chasseurs  or 
light  infantry  with  them,  to  guard  them  in  their  camps  or 
quarters  upon  the  lines,  to  secure  their  marches,  support  their 
enterprises  and  cover  their  retreat,  in  case  of  need,  I  am 
persuaded  our  officers  would  strike  hardy  blows  and  harass 
the  enemy  considerably.  These  chasseurs  ought  to  be  com- 
manded by  intelligent  officers,  and  be  under  the  immediate 
order  of  the  commandant  of  the  legion.  Detachments  taken 
from  the  line  will  not  so  well  answer  the  purpose  as  troops 
already  trained  to  those  maneuvers,  and  known  to  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  corps. 

"  These  reasons,  among  several  others,  induce  me  to  pro- 
pose that  the  corps  of  Major  Lee,  already  partly  formed  on 
this  footing,  should  be  carried  to  a  better  proportion,  i.  e., 
that  his  infantry,  which  now  consists  of  eighty  men,  should  be 
carried  up  to  the  number  of  his  cavalry,  which  consists  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  This  infantry  might  then  be  divided  into 
three  companies,  each  of  which  would  be  attached  to  a  squad- 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  255 

ron  of  cavalry.  The  reputation  this  officer  has  already  ac- 
quired supplies  him  with  the  means  of  enlisting  the  number  of 
men  he  may  want. 

"  I  find  this  little  augmentation  so  necessary  for  the  good 
of  the  service,  that  I  must  recommend  it  to  your  considera- 
tion, and  request  you  to  order  Major  Lee  to  recruit  his  corps 
to  the  above-mentioned  number." 

Congress,  however,  did  not  adopt  Steuben's  proposition 
for  this  time  ;  it  resolved  only  on  the  9th  of  February  1^80,* 
"  That,  for  the  ensuing  campaign,  the  States  be  respective- 
ly required  to  furnish,  by  draughts  or  otherwise,  on  or  before 
the  1st  day  of  April  next,  their  respective  deficiency  of  the 
number  of  thirty-five  thousand  two  hundred  and  eleven  men, 
exclusive  of  commissioned  officers,  which  Congress  deem  ne- 
cessary for  the  service  of  the  present  year. 

"  That  the  quotas  of  the  several  States  be  as  follows  : 
New  Hampshire,  1,215  ;  Massachusetts  Bay,  6,070  ;  Rhode 
Island,  810;  Connecticut,  3,238;  New  York,  1,G20;  New 
Jersey,  1,620  ;  Pennsylvania,  4,855  ;  Delaware,  405  ;  Mary- 
land, 3,238  ;  Virginia,  6,0*70  ;  North  Carolina,  3,640  ;  South 
Carolina,  2,430  ;  exclusive  of  blacks. 

"That  all  the  men,  whose  times  of  service  do  not  ex- 
pire before  the  last  day  of  September  next,  be  counted  to- 
wards the  quotas  of  the  States  to  which  they  respectively  be- 
long, whether  they  compose  the  battalions  in  the  line  of  the 
several  States,  those  of  the  additional  corps,  including  the 
guards,  the  artillery,  and  horse,  or  the  regimented  artificers  in 
the  departments  of  the  quarter-master  general  and  commis- 
sary general  of  military  stores,  who,  being  credited  to  the 
States  respectively,  should  be  provided  for,  deemed  and  treat- 
ed in  the  same  manner  with  the  men  in  the  several  State 
lines ;  and  it  is  recommended  to  the  several  States  to  make 
like  provision  for  the  officers  and  men  of  the  artillery,  horse, 
additional  corps,  including  the  guards  and  regimented  artifi- 
*  Resolutions,  Acts,  and  Orders  of  Congress,  vol.  vi.,  1780.  p.  2G. 


256  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

cers,  as  may  be  made  in  pursuance  of  any  resolution  of  Con- 
gress, for  the  officers  and  men  of  their  respective  battalions, 
with  such  exceptions  respecting  the  regimented  artificers  as 
have  been  made  by  Congress  in  their  acts  concerning  them. 

u  That  the  commander-in-chief  be  forthwith  directed  to 
transmit  to  the  several  States  accurate  returns  of  the  troops 
now  in  service  belonging  or  credited  to  their  respective  quotas, 
to  the  intent  that  immediate  measures  be  taken  by  the  govern- 
ments of  the  States  to  bring  the  men  to  be  raised  into  the 
field  with  certainty  and  expedition." 

The  following  letters  comprise  all  the  details  extant,  with 
reference  to  the  foregoing  subject : 

STEUBEN     TO     W  A  S  II I  N  G  T  O  N . 

"Philadelphia,  February  14,  1780. 

"  The  day  before  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  Excel- 
lency's letter  of  the  8th  instant,  I  had  sent  you  a  copy  of  the 
resolution  of  Congress,  which  regulated  the  number  of  men 
which  each  State  has  to  furnish  for  next  campaign.  If,  as  I 
hope,  the  officers  are  not  included,  and  if  the  number  of  men 
to  be  employed  out  of  the  line  of  battalions  does  not  exceed 
the  proportion,  our  army  will  be  considerably  stronger  than  it 
was  at  the  beginning  of  last  campaign. 

"It  would  be  very  difficult,  my  dear  general,  to  judge, 
with  any  degree  of  certainty,  of  our  money  resources,  and, 
consequently,  the  question  whether  we  shall  act  offensively  or 
defensively  must  remain  yet  some  time  undecided.  In  either 
case,  however,  we  must  have  an  army,  and  that  army,  more  or 
less  strong,  must  be  armed  and  provided  for.  My  representa- 
tion to  Congress  lias  been  limited  to  these  two  objects.  The 
season  being  so  far  advanced,  I  was  frightened  to  see  that  be- 
fore my  arrival  the  States  had  not  yet  been  called  upon  for 
their  quotas  of  men,  and  it  was  not  without  great  importuni- 
ties Congress  were  brought  to  pass  the  resolves  which  I  have 
sent  to  your  Excellency. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  257 

"  I  can  not  yet  answer  that  the  States  will  all  send  their 
full  numbers ;  but  they  will  at  least,  I  believe,  begin  to  recruit 
immediately.  ' 

"  But,  supposing  we  shall  have  all  the  men,  is  it  not  to  be 
feared  we  shall  want  the  arms  ?  We  can  not  much  rely  on  a 
supply  from  France ;  the  disaster  which  has  retarded  the 
voyage  of  Mr.  Gerard  leaves  us  almost  no  hopes  to  receive 
any  thing  before  June  or  July  next. 

"  The  board  of  war  told  me  that  there  are  only  about  five 
hundred  stand  of  arms  in  the  military  stores  on  which  we  may 
rely.  I  will,  however,  make  the  most  exact  researches  upon 
this  subject;  wherefore  I  expect,  with  the  greatest  impatience, 
the  returns  of  the  arms  of  the  army  and  those  of  General 
Knox.  With  regard  to  the  provisions  and  necessaries,  I  hear 
there  is  a  commission  appointed  to  regulate  that  branch. 

"Mr.  De  la  Luzerne  has  not  yet  fixed  the  day  of  his  de- 
parture, but  it  will  be,  I  believe,  towards  the  end  of  this 
month,  and  I  shall  give  you  notice  beforehand.  He  wished 
much  to  be  better  acquainted  with  the  means  on  which  Con- 
gress may  rely  with  some  degree  of  certainty,  before  he  should 
speak  on  that  point  to  your  Excellency." 

"Philadelphia,  February  23,  1180. 

"The  delay  which  must  result  from  collecting  the  returns 
of  all  the  dispersed  corps  which  you  mentioned  in  your  letter 
of  the  18th  inst.,  is  a  difficulty  which  I  apprehended  as  soon 
as  I  saw  the  resolutions  of  Congress.  Besides  that,  it  will  be 
almost  impossible  to  make  out  those  returns  with  the  neces- 
sary exactness.  We  shall  certainly  lose  two  months  at  a  time 
when  wTe  ought  not  to  lose  two  days. 

"  I  think  that  if  each  State  had  carried  their  regiments  of 
infantry  to  a  certain  fixed  number,  in  adding  to  each  company 
eight  men  as  supernumeraries,  which  would  make  seventy-two 
men  per  regiment ;  out  of  these  supernumeraries  the  artillery, 
artificers'  and  staff  departments  might  have  been   recruited. 


258  LIFE     Or     STEUKEN. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  make  such  calculations  very  exact,  a 
margin  large  enough  is  generally  left  to  set  down  the  unfore- 
seen accidents. 

"An  indisposition  which  has  kept  me  several  clays  at  home, 
and  much  more  the  absence  of  Mr.  Chancellor  Livingston,  has 
prevented  me  from  knowing  the  intentions  of  Congress  with 
regard  to  the  additional  regiments,  the  cavalry  and  the  inde- 
pendent corps.  If  our  finances  had  permitted  us,  I  should 
have  wished  that  at  the  same  time  the  States  recruit  their 
own  regiments  by  draught,  those  might  have  been  recruited 
by  enlistment. 

"  The  number  of  men  we  can  have  next  campaign  in  rank 
and  file,  ought  to  determine  the  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition, 
etc.,  we  shall  want ;  but  the  uncertainty  of  the  former  throws 
•obscurity  over  all  the  rest.  As  we,  however,  are  to  make 
general  calculations,  I  have  conceived  the  number  of  ten 
thousand  stand  of  arms  more  than  we  actually  have,  absolutely 
indispensable  in  the  army. 

"  I  have  visited  the  manufactories  of  arms  and  the  maga- 
zines in  this  town,  where  I  have  found  thirty-two  hundred 
stands  ready  and  in  good  order.  Besides  the  board  of  war 
have  shown  me  a  return  of  two  thousand  at  Albany,  and  as 
many  at  Carlisle,  which  are  likewise  ready  and  in  order,  so 
that  the  number  which  I  thought  necessary  will  be  together 
towards  the  beginning  of  April.  I  have  found,  besides,  in  the 
magazines,  four  thousand  large  muskets  without  bayonets,  and 
too  heavy  to  serve  in  a  campaign,  but  very  proper  to  serve  in 
a  fortified  place.  If  your  Excellency  thinks  proper,  I  have  a 
mind  to  cause  two  thousand  to  be  cleaned  and  sent  to  the 
forts  at  West  Point,  where  they  will  be  of  more  service  than 
in  our  magazines.  I  have  also  found  two  thousand  new  car- 
tridge boxes,  which  might  now  be  sent  to  the  army.  I  saw, 
yesterday,  a  letter  from  Dr.  Franklin,  just  arrived  from 
France,  in  which  he  says  he  has  informed  the  king,  in  Sep- 
tember last,  of  the  demand  which  Congress  has  made  of  arms, 


LIFE     OF     BTfU'BM,  250 

ammunition,  and  clothing  for  our  army.  Though  he  has  as 
yet  no  certainty,  yet  he  appears  to  have  no  doubt  of  the  suc- 
cess. Thus  we  may  hope  to  receive  assistance  from  that  side 
by  the  first  vessel  that  shall  arrive,  and  to  want  neither  arms 
nor  ammunition  to  oppose- the  obstinacy  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  who,  by  his  last  speech,  appears  to  be  very  intent  in 
carrying  on  the  war  with  spirit  and  vigor.  I  should  likewise 
be  happy  if  I  could  assure  you  that  we  shall  also  be  able  to 
pay  and  provide  for  our  army.  Congress  are  now  endeavoring 
to  settle  these  matters.  God  grant  that  they  may  succeed 
according  to  their  wishes  and  mine.  Count  D'Estaing's  fleet 
has  suffered  another  storm  on  the  coasts  of  Europe." 

"Philadelphia,  March  15,  1180. 

"Since  the  departure  of  the  last  letter  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  write  you,  I  have  not  in  the  least  advanced  in  the 
affairs  which  I  had  proposed  to  see  brought  to  a  conclusion. 
Before  it  is  known  whether  the  number  of  regiments  is  to  be 
preserved,  or  whether  an  incorporation  is  to  take  place,  it  is 
impossible  to  make  any  calculations  for  the  formation. 

"I  have  exerted  all  the  means  in  my  power  to  persuade 
Congress  to  determine  that  important  question,  and  to  adopt 
any  system  whatever,  that  your  Excellenoy  and  the  chiefs  of 
the  several  departments  might  make  their  arrangements  in 
consequence;  but  it  seems  that  the  ill  state  of  our  finances  has 
stopped  all  the  wheels  of  the  whole  machine. 

"The  board  of  war  have  made  a  report,  in  which  the  in- 
corporation of  a  fourth  part  is  proposed.  This  report  con- 
tains, I  believe,  the  same  plan  which  Chancellor  Livingston 
has  imparted  to  your  Excellency.  Several  motions  have  been 
made  to  consider  and  determine  upon  this  subject,  but  hitherto 
the  decision  has  been  deferred.  The  month  of  March  is  more 
than  half  spent,  and  I  shudder,  my  dear  general,  when  I  think 
of  the  many  important  arrangements  that  are  still  to  be  made 
between  this  time  and  the  opening  of  the  campaign.     There 


260  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

is  not  a  day  but  I  apply  from  one  to  the  other  to  represent  to 
them  the  necessity  of  determining  the  present  business.  The 
day  before  yesterday  I  went  to  Chancellor  Livingston  and 
told  him  that  I  was  ready  to  set  off  for  the  army,  perceiving 
that  my  presence  here  was  of  no  use.  He  requested  me  to 
defer  my  departure  and  to  communicate  to  the  board  of  war 
my  opinion  of  the  formation  of  the  army  for  the  next  cam- 
paign. 

"As  this  object  has  already  engaged  my  attention  for  some 
time,  and  as  I  calculated  and  balanced  the  good  and  evil  that 
might  result  from  an  incorporation,  and  being  entirely  per- 
suaded that  such  an  operation  in  the  present  crisis,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  a  campaign  for  which  we  are  in  general  so  ill 
prepared,  would  be  attended  with  danger,  I  did  not  hesitate 
a  moment  to  give  my  opinion  in  writing,  such  as  I  have  the 
honor  to  transmit  it  to  your  Excellency.  The  board  of  war 
will  send,  to-morrow,  that  paper  to  Congress,  and  I  am  anx- 
ious to  learn  the  effect  it  will  produce. 

"  You  know,  my  dear  general,  that  I  have  always  wished 
to  see  our  regiments  stronger,  but  I  believe  it  will  be  prudent 
to  make  use  in  the  present  crisis  of  the  simplest  means,  Which 
is  that  of  leaving  the  corps  such  as  they  are,  and  reinforcing 
them  as  well  as  we  can.  Any  incorporation  whatever  will  be 
a  general  alteration  in  the  body  of  the  army,  at  the  very  mo- 
ment, perhaps,  when  it  should  act.  Besides,  as  our  army  will 
have  in  this  campaign  such  a  great  number  of  recruits,  we 
must  be  able  to  rely  on  our  officers  for  maintaining  good  order 
among  the  troops ;  and  the  less  is  the  mass  of  an  undisciplined 
body,  the  easier  it  is  for  him  who  has  its  direction  to  make  it 
act,  and  to  restore  it  to  order  in  case  of  confusion. 

"  The  vacancies  of  subalterns  in  several  regiments  appear 
to  be  one  of  the  motives  which  might  the  most  strongly  en- 
gage us  to  an  incorporation  ;  but  I  think  that  the  nomination 
might  better  be  suspended  till  the  end  of  the  campaign,  and  as 
our  companies  are  not  very  strong,  I  believe  that  two  officers 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  201 

for  each  will  suffice,  provided  that  the  brigadiers  take  care  to 
send  no  officers  on  furlough  during  the  campaign,  so  that  none 
are  improperly  employed  out  of  the  regiments ;  that  the  field 
officers  company  shall  have  two  subalterns,  and  the  other  com- 
panies one,  when  the  captain  is  present,  and  two  when  he  is 
absent.  The  officers  employed  as  quarter-masters  and  pay- 
masters might  even  keep  the  administration  of  their  compa- 
nies, and  only  be  dispensed  from  the  service  of  the  line.  By 
these  means,  the  number  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  captains 
and  subalterns  would  suffice  to  do  the  service  of  a  regiment, 
and  each  regiment  might  keep  five  or  six  vacancies.  Besides 
the  numberless  inconveniences  wnich  I  fear  from  an  incorpora- 
tion or  reduction  of  the  regiments,  I  find  that  the  proportion 
which  is  wished  to  be  incorporated  is  the  most  difficult  thing 
to  determine.  If  we  leave  that  proportion  to  the  choice  of 
the  several  States,  we  shall  have  regiments  of  six  hundred 
men,  while  others  shall  consist  only  of  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
which  difference  I  consider  as  the  source  of  all  disorders  in  an 
army. 

"  The  proportion  being  fixed — suppose  it  to  be  the  fourth 
part — this  question  results :  How  many  regiments  has  each 
State  to  re-form  ?  Now,  for  instance,  Massachusetts  has  fif- 
teen regiments ;  Pennyslvania,  eleven  ;  New  Jersey,  three ; 
Delaware,  one.  With  such  a  disproportion,  I  do  not  see  how 
a  fourth  part  can  be  re-formed  without  great  difficulty  and 
confusion.  Such  an  alteration  requires  such  extensive  calcula- 
tions, and  such  mature  deliberations,  that  we  have  not  time  to 
undertake  either  at  such  an  advanced  period. 

"  I  have  yesterday  received  the  honor  of  your  letter  of  the 
6th  instant.  It  is  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  that  I  see  you 
have  collected  the  returns  of  the  deficiencies  of  men.  I  feared 
the  difficulty  of  this  collection  the  more  as  I  knew  the  neglect 
and  want  of  exactness  of  several  officers  on  the  important  ob- 
iect  of  returns;  and  it  is  with  the  greatest  sorrow  that  I  must 
observe  to  your  Excellency  that  the  board  of  war  have  not 


202  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

yet  received  the  general  return  of  January  last,  and  that  that 
of  December,  as  well  as  several  of  the  preceding  months,  is 
extremely  imperfect. 

"  A  necessary  calculation  made  us  lately  ask  for  a  return 
of  General  Poor's  brigade  at  the  War  office,  and  that  brigade 
has  not  been  carried  into  any  of  the  general  returns  ever  since 
last  spring,  when  it  joined  General  Sullivan's  corps. 

"  This  object,  and  several  others  which  I  shall  submit  to 
your  Excellency's  consideration,  will  engage  me  to  join  the 
army  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  PROPOSALS  FOR  THE  FORMATION"  OF  OUR  ARMY  FOR  THE 
NEXT  CAMPAIGN. 

"  The  distribution  of  the  number  of  men  which  each  State 
is  to  furnish  for  the  next  campaign,  permits  us  to  complete  our 
regiments  of  infantry  in  the  lino  to  a  number,  indeed,  below 
the  establishment,  but  which  puts  it  in  our  power  to  form  each 
regiment  into  a  battalion  without  changing  the  principles  of 
formation  already  established  in  the  regulations. 

"  If  we  put  each  regiment  on  the  footing  of  three  hundred 
and  seventeen  fighting  men,  exclusive  of  the  commissioned 
officers,  drummers  and  lifers,  and  divide  each  into  nine  com- 
panies ;  then  each  company  will  consist  of  thirty-five  men 
under  arms,  including  the  sergeant-major  and  quarter-master 
sergeant,  and  a  brigade  of  four  regiments  will  be  composed  of 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  fighting  men,  and 
the  fifteen  brigades  now  at  the  grand  army  will  make  a  body 
of  infantry  of  eighteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three  me* 
under  arms. 

"  According  to  this  calculation  we  shall  have  about  three 
thousand  infantry  more  than  we  had  the  last  campaign,  though 
we  had  then  the  brigades  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
which  are  now  at  the  southward.  TVe  have  nothing  to  do, 
then,  but  to  collect  our  recruits  as  quick  as  possible,  to  make 
the  regiments  equal,  to  exercise  the  troops,  and  to  fill,  in  some 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  263 

regiments,  some  vacancies  of  subalterns,  in  order  to  have  the 
number  of  officers  necessary  for  the  service. 

"  We  shall  thus  avoid  every  kind  of  reform  and  incorpo- 
ration, which  would  unavoidably  occasion  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
content among  a  number  of  officers,  who,  on  account  of  their 
personal  merit  and  the  effectual  services  they  have  rendered 
their  country,  ought  not  to  be  exposed  to  their  disagreements. 
Besides,  every  incorporation  requires  necessarily  a  new  forma- 
tion, which  could  not  be  arranged  without  employing  a  vast 
deal  of  time  ;  it  is,  one  might  say,  a  new  creation,  rendered 
more  difficult  by  the  dispute  about  rank  and  seniority,  to  which 
such  arrangements  are  always  subjected. 

"  When  I  examine  scrupulously  the  motives  which  can 
induce  us  to  lessen  the  number  of  our  regiments,  I  find  none 
strong  enough  to  balance  the  inconveniences  which  will  neces- 
sarily result  from  it.  The  season  is  already  so  far  advanced 
that  we  scarcely  have  time  enough  to  collect  our  recruits,  to 
exercise  them,  and  to  form  our  companies  and  battalions  for 
the  next  campaign. 

"  At  a  time  when  a  thousand  important  objects  take  up 
the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  commander-in-chief,  they 
will  be  incessantly  troubled  with  endless  representations,  if  an 
incorporation  should  take  place.  Several  other  difficulties, 
winch  I  could  specify,  will  unavoidably  arise.  If,  instead  of 
this,  we  leave,  for  the  present  campaign,  the  army  on  the  an- 
cient footing,  we  shall  have  time  enough  to  make  a  better  cal- 
culated plan  to  lessen  the  number  of  regiments,  and  render 
them  more  formidable,  which  plan  might  be  put  in  execution 
at  the  end  of  the  campaign. 

"With  regard  to  the  additional  regiments,  I  think  that  in 
granting  them  leave  and  money  to  recruit  about  three  hundred 
men,  they  might  be  preserved  on  the  same  footing  as  those 
belonging  to  particular  States.  Colonel  Gist's  regiment  is 
joined  to  the  Virginia  division ;  it  wants  for  its  completion 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  recruits,  who  might  be  en- 


264  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

listed  in  that  State.  Those  of  Colonels  Webb,  Sherborn  and 
Spencer  want  in  all  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  recruits  to 
be  on  the  footing  of  the  others  ;  they  might  be  levied  in  Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New  England. 

"  Colonel  Jackson's  regiment  had,  at  last  review,  the  com- 
plete number  of  three  hundred  and  seventeen,  and  does  not 
want  to  be  recruited.  The  only  difficulty  lies  with  Colonel 
Hazen's  regiment,  who  insists  on  a  particular  agreement  made 
with  Congress,  whereby  his  regiment  is  to  consist  of  twenty 
companies,  of  which  he  has,  however,  given  up  two,  so  that 
his  regiment,  composed  of  eighteen  companies,  would  make 
exactly  a  double  one.  He  is,  in  consequence  of  this  formation, 
provided  with  field  officers,  and  even  with  captains — but  he 
wants  subalterns  and  privates.  His  regiment  is  partly  composed 
of  Canadians,  as  well  officers  as  soldiers.  These  have  a  right 
to  claim  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  however  difficult 
it  may  be  to  satisfy  all  their  pretensions.  What  I  might  pro- 
pose on  this  object,  would  be  to  incorporate  Colonel  Living- 
ston's regiment  as  the  weakest,  and  mostly  composed  of  Cana- 
dians, with  that  of  Colonel  Hazen.  Colonel  Hazen  returns  his 
regiment  at  four  hundred  men,  and  Colonel  Livingston  his 
regiment  at  one  hundred  and  three — five  hundred  and  three 
in  all.  Colonel  Hazen  should  then  be  ordered  to  divide  his 
regiment  into  eighteen  companies — each  of  twenty-eight  men 
— which  would  make  the  number  of  five  hundred  and  four 
men,  and  to  form  it  into  two  battalions. 

"  With  regard  to  the  cavalry,  my  ojnnion  is,  that,  as  in  the 
present  circumstances,  it  is  impossible  to  put  those  regiments 
on  the  footing  of  the  first  establishment,  it  is,  however,  neces- 
sary to  determine  their  number  and  formation.  I  propose, 
then,  the  same  means  as  for  the  formation  of  the  infantry, 
*.  e.,  without  incorporating  or  re-forming  regiments,  or  even 
changing  the  ancient  formation,  but  only  lessening  the  num- 
ber of  men  and  horses  in  each  regiment,  that  the  totality  of 
our  cavalry  may  not  exceed  the  number  of  one  thousand  horses. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  265 

"  The  corps  of  cavalry  which  we  have  at  present  are  four 
regiments  of  horse,  the  corps  of  light  horse  under  Major  Lee, 
and  the  raarechaussee. 

"Each  regiment  should  then  be  completed  to  two  hundred 
and  four  men,  well  mounted,  including  the  non-commissioned 
officers  and  trumpeters.  Each  regiment  might  be  divided 
into  three  squadrons,  each  squadron  to  consist  of  sixty-eight 
horse.  Each  squadron  should  then  be  divided  into  two  com- 
panies, each  company  to  consist  of  thirty-four  men,  including 
non-commissioned  officers  and  trumpeters.  Each  company 
might  have  six  supernumeraries  on  foot ;  consequently  each 
regiment  should  consist  of  two  hundred  and  four  horse  and 
two  hundred  and  forty  men,  thirty  six  of  whom  are  on  foot. 
Major  Lee's  should  still  consist  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  horse, 
and  his  infantry  should  only  be  completed.  The  marechaussee 
ought  to  remain  on  the  first  establishment  of  forty  horse. 
With  regard  to  Colonel  Armand's  legion,  it  ought  to  be  left 
to  the  direction  of  General  Lincoln  to  put  it  on  the  footing  he 
shall  think  most  conducive  to  the  good,  of  the  service. 

"Thus  the  cavalry,  without  the  above-mentioned  legion, 
will  not  exceed  the  number  of  one  thousand  and  six  horse  in 
the  northern  and  southern  armies.  I  can  not,  however,  for- 
bear observing  that  as  long  as  our  cavalry  have  no  carabines 
to  guard  themselves  in  their  quarters,  I  wish  each  regiment 
should  be  joined  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  foot,  otherwise  it 
will  never  be  in  our  power  to  employ  our  cavalry  on  the  line, 
and  we  shall  be  obliged  to  place  them  behind  our  camps, 
where  they  will  be  always  of  very  little  service." 

STEUBEN     TO      WASHINGTON. 

"  Philadelphia,  March  28,  IT 80  * 
"  The  propositions  I  made  to  Congress  respecting  the  form- 
ation of  the  army,  of  which  I  had  the  honor  of  transmitting 

*  This  letter  may  also  be  found  in  the  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution, 
by  J.  Sparks,  ii.,  420. 

12 


2(36  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

your  Excellency  a  copy,  remain  yet  on  their  table  without  any 
decision  thereon.  They  have,  however,  set  aside  the  report  of 
the  board  of  war  on  a  motion  for  reducing  the  battalions,  as 
you  will  perceive  by  the  resolve  annexed,  so  that  all  reduction 
or  incorporation  is  out  of  the  question  ;  and  for  next  cam- 
paign the  regiments  in  the  line  will  be  augmented  more  or 
less  by  the  respective  States.  What  is  to  be  done  with  the 
additional  regiments  and  the  cavalry  ?  Congress  can  not  or 
will  not  decide,  though  I  am  rather  led  to  believe  their  delay 
in  this  matter  proceeds  from  the  grand  cause  of  all  our  misfor- 
tunes— the  bad  state  of  our  finances,  which  will  not  allow  the 
recruiting  of  men  or  purchasing  of  horses. 

"  I  observed  to  you,  my  dear  general,  in  my  last,  that 
every  wheel  of  the  machine  seemed  stopped.  Of  the  truth 
of  this  observation  I  become  more  and  more  convinced,  and 
must  confess  that  to  me  our  situation  appears  very  critical. 
The  late  resolves  respecting  the  money,  though,  attended  with 
all  the  success  that  can  be  wished,  can  not  make  any  immediate 
alteration  for  the  better.  Some  months  must  elapse  before 
their  good  effects  will  be  felt ;  and  during  this  time  we  are 
disabled  from  doing  any  thing,  while,  at  this  very  moment, 
the  greatest  exertions  are  necessary. 

"  My  anxiety  for  our  southern  affairs,  I  can  not  help  say- 
ing, is  considerably  increased  by  the  last  accounts,  which  seem 
to  announce  a  determination  of  General  Lincoln  to  defend 
Charleston  with  all  his  force.  This  to  me  appears  to  be  play- 
ing a  hard  game. 

"  Another  danger  which  threatens  us,  and  which  is  much 
to  be  dreaded,  is  the  declared  division  between  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania,  the  latter  State  having  actually  passed  a  law  for 
the  raising  fifteen  hundred  men  to  defend  their  pretended 
rights.  All  these  things  offer  but  a  dull  prospect,  rendered 
still  more  dull  by  the  cabals  and  factions  which  reign  among 
us.  The  civil  departments  of  the  army,  at  a  time  when  their 
whole  attention  should  be  taken  up  in  providing  for  the  ap- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  267 

proaching  campaign,  are  in  such  a  state  of  dissatisfaction  and 
confusion,  that  I  am  very  apprehensive  they  will  make  things 
still  worse  than  they  are. 

"  You  will  perhaps  think,  my  dear  general,  that  I  am  in 
anxiety  for  things  which  are  out  of  my  sphere ;  but  when  you 
consider  that  all  my  happiness  depends  on  our  success,  you  will 
not  blame  me  for  the  interest  I  take  in  the  cause.  The  same 
motives  make  me  apprehensive  that  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments will  never  be  firmly  established  without  your  personal 
assistance ;  and  I  submit  to  you,  my  dear  general,  whether 
your  presence  is  not  absolutely  necessary  at  Congress,  in  the 
present  critical  situation  of  our  affairs.  Your  right  to  the  con- 
fidence both  of  Congress  and  the  people  is  too  well  founded 
not  to  command  the  greatest  attention  to  every  thing  you 
propose.  The  time  is  precious,  and  the  prospect  before  us  is 
threatening.  Your  presence  will  animate  our  councils  as  it 
does  our  armies.  My  attachment  to  the  cause,  and  the  re- 
spectful confidence  I  have  in  your  person,  induce  me  to  ex- 
press, in  the  strongest  terms,  the  desire  I  have  to  see  you 
here." 

WASHINGTON     TO      STEUBEN. 

"  Morristown,  April  2,  1780.* 
"  The  propositions  made  by  you  to  Congress,  for  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  army  this  campaign,  appear  to  me,  upon  the 
whole,  best  adapted  to  our  circumstances,  and  especially  since 
so  much  of  the  season  has  elapsed  without  entering  upon  it. 
I  am  glad  the  proposed  incorporation  has  been  suspended.  I 
doubt,  however,  the  practicability,  at  this  time,  of  augmenting 
the  cavalry  or  recruiting  the  additional  men,  from  the  circum- 
stance you  mentioned,  the  extreme  distress  of  the  Treasury, 
which  seems  to  be  totally  exhausted,  and  without  sufficient  re- 
sources for  the  current  demands  of  the  service.  The  present 
crisis  is  indeed  perplexing  beyond  description,  and  it  is  infinite- 
ly difficult  to  prescribe  a  remedy. 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vii.,  9. 


208  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

"When  I  approve  your  plan  for  the  additional  regiments, 
it  is  with  one  condition — that  Congress  can  find  means  to  pro- 
vide for  the  officers,  so  as  to  put  them  upon  an  equal  footing 
with  the  other  parts  of  the  army.  If  this  can  not  be  done, 
they  can  not  continue  in  the  service.  I  have  incessant  appli- 
cations to  this  effect,  and  have  just  written  again  to  Congress 
on  the  subject.  If  the  situation  of  the  officers  can  not  be 
made  more  tolerable,  it  will  be  preferable  to  dissolve  those 
corps,  incorporate  the  men  with  the  State  lines,  and  let  the 
officers  retire,  to  be  entitled  to  pay,  subsistence,  and  the  emol- 
uments decreed  at  the  end  of  the  war.  This  will  be  a  very 
bad  expedient  if  it  can  not  be  avoided  ;  but  it  is  better  than  to 
leave  the  officers  in  such  a  state  that  they  must  be  miserable 
while  they  stay  in  the  army,  obliged,  in  a  little  time,  the 
greater  part  of  them  to  quit,  while  the  corps,  for  want  of  care, 
will  rapidly  decline,  and  a  number  of  good  men  be  lost  to  the 
service. 

"Your  anxiety  on  the  score  of  southern  affairs  can  not 
exceed  mine.  The  measure  of  collecting  the  whole  force  for 
the  defense  of  Charleston  ought,  no  doubt,  to  have  been  well 
considered  before  it  was  determined.  It  is  putting  much  to 
hazard  ;  but,  at  this  distance,  we  can  form  a  very  imperfect 
judgment  of  its  propriety  or  necessity.  I  have  the  greatest 
reliance  on  General  Lincoln's  prudence,  but  I  can  not  forbear 
dreading  the  event.  Ill  as  we  can  afford  a  diminution  01  our 
force  here,  and  notwithstanding  the  danger  we  run  from  the 
facility  with  which  the  enemy  can  concentrate  their  force  at 
our  weak  points,  besides  other  inconveniences,  I  have  recom- 
mended to  Congress  to  detach  the  Maryland  division  to  rein- 
force the  southern  States.  Though  this  detachment  can  not, 
in  all  probability,  arrive  in  season  to  be  of  any  service  to 
Charleston,  it  may  assist  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  enemy, 
and  save  the  Carolinas. 

"  My  sentiments  concerning  public  affairs  correspond 
too    much  with   yours.      The    prospect,  my    dear   baron,  is 


LTFE      OF      STEUBEN.  2G9 

gloomy,  and  the  storm  threatens.  Not  to  have  the  anxieties 
you  express,  at  the  present  juncture,  would  be  not  to  feel  that 
zeal  and  interest  in  our  cause  by  which  all  your  conduct  shows 
you  to  be  actuated.  But  I  hope  we  shall  extricate  ourselves, 
and  bring  every  thing  to  a  prosperous  issue.  I  have  been  so 
inured  to  difficulties  in  the  course  of  this  contest,  that  I  have 
learned  to  look  upon  them  with  more  tranquillity  than  former- 
ly. Those  which  now  present  themselves,  no  doubt,  require 
vigorous  exertions  to  overcome  them,  and  I  am  far  from  de- 
spairing of  doing  it I  am  very  sensible,  my 

dear  baron,  to  the  obliging  assurances  of  your  regard,  and  I 
entreat  you  to  believe  there  is  a  perfect  reciprocity  of  senti- 
ments, and  that  I  am,  with  great  consideration  and  the  truest 
esteem,"  etc.,  etc. 

STEUBEN     TO      WASHINGTON. 

"  Philadelphia,  April  6,  1780. 
"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  favor  of  the  2d  in- 
stant yesterday.  The  necessity  there  was  of  having  something 
done  for  the  additional  regiments  induced  me  to  write  the 
board  of  war  a  letter,  pressing  their  immediate  attention  to 
those  corps,  but,  though  some  days  have  since  elapsed,  and 
the  necessity  of  coming  to  an  immediate  decision  in  this  affair 
is  acknowledged,  yet  through  the  absence  of  Mr.  Livingston 
and  Mr.  Pickering,  no  report  has  yet  been  made  to  Congress. 
Under  such  circumstances  of  delay,  there  appeared  to  me  but 
one  way  of  having  any  thing  done  for  the  army  in  any  season  ; 
this  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  with  full  powers,  in 
concert  with  your  Excellency,  to  make  every  arrangement 
necessary  for  the  next  campaign  ;  to  determine  the  formation, 
and  every  other  thing  necessary  to  be  done  for  the  additional 
corps,  as  well  cavalry  as  infantry  ;  to  devise  the  means  of  put- 
ting the  officers  on  a  footing  with  the  other  parts  of  the  army, 
and,  in  fact,  to  do  every  thing  necessary  to  be  done  to  put  the 
army  in  a  proper  condition  for  the  ensuing  campaign. 


270  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

"  This  proposition  has  been  debated  in  Congress  these  two 
days.  Yesterday  Mr.  Lowell  gave  me  hopes  it  would  take 
place,  and  I  have  since  been  informed  a  committee  is  actually 
named  to  draw  up  instructions  for  the  committee  before  men- 
tioned. So  soon  as  I  hear  the  members  are  actually  named, 
I  shall  lose  no  time  in  putting  myself  more  immediately  under 
your  Excellency's  orders. 

"  From  every  observation  I  have  made,  I  can  not  perceive 
that  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  have  taken  the  least  step  towrard 
recruiting  their  regiments  for  the  next  campaign.  What  this 
delay  can  be  owing  to,  I  can  not  say ;  but  I  should  imagine  a 
hint  from  your  Excellency  to  the  president  might  have  some 
effect." 

The  letter  to  the  board  of  war,  above  referred  to,  reads  as 
follows : 

"Philadelphia,  March  29,  1180. 

"  I  observe  that  Congress  have,  by  a  resolution  of  the  25th 
instant,  deferred  the  consideration  of  any  new  arrangement  of 
the  army  till  the  1st  of  December  next.  The  regiments  in  the 
line  of  the  different  States  will,  therefore,  remain  on  their  pres- 
ent footing,  being  completed  more  or  less  by  their  respect- 
ive States ;  but  what  is  to  be  done  with  the  several  addi- 
tional regiments  and  corps  remains  yet  to  be  decided. 

"  These  regiments  being  in  general  too  much  reduced  to 
remain  on  their  present  footing,  and  the  only  means  of  com- 
pleting them  by  recruits  being  at  this  time  impracticable,  I 
would  propose  that  power  be  given  to  General  Washington 
to  draw  together  such  of  those  corps  as  are  not  at  the  south- 
ward, and  by  incorporating  the  regiments,  or  otherwise,  as 
he  may  judge  proper,  to  form  them  in  such  a  manner  as  may 
appear  to  him  most  conducive  to  the  public  service. 

"I  would  by  no  means  be  understood  to  incorporate  them 
into  the  regiments  of  the  different  States ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
am  of  opinion  such  a  measure  would  have  a  very  bad  effect,  ea- 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  271 

cially  at  this  juncture,  as  the  greatest  part  of  the  officers  must 
in  that  case  be  disbanded. 

"I  can  not  help  taking  this  opportunity  to  represent  to  the 
board,  that  a  general  dissatisfaction  prevails  in  these  corps  on 
account  of  the  disadvantages  they  have  hitherto  labored  under, 
compared  with  the  troops  of  the  several  States,  for  though 
by  a  resolution  of  Congress  the  several  States  have  credit  for 
the  men  serving  with  these  corps,  yet  they  have  never  re- 
ceived any  benefit  from  that  resolve,  either  in  receiving  re- 
cruits or  supplies  of  any  nature  whatsoever. 

"  The  only  means  to  remedy  this  is,  in  my  opinion,  to  ap- 
point a  commissary  to  supply  them  with  clothing,  and  such 
other  articles  as  are  furnished  by  the  different  States  to  their 
troops,  the  extra  prices  of  which  should  be  charged  to  the 
several  States  which  have  credit  for  the  men  as  part  of  their 
quota  in  the  field ;  the  supplies  furnished  to  the  Canadians, 
and  others  to  no  particular  State,  to  be  charged  to  the  Conti- 
nent. Some  means  should  also  be  found  for  supplying  the  ar- 
tillery, cavalry,  and  others,  who  are  in  the  same  disadvanta- 
geous situation. 

"  With  respect  to  the  keeping  up  the  additional  regiments, 
the  only  means  that  occurs,  is  to  give  them  liberty  and  furnish 
them  with  money  to  recruit ;  the  promotion  of  the  officers 
should  take  place  in  that  line  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
line  of  the  different  States. 

"  The  little  time  we  have  before  the  opening  of  the  cam- 
paign, will,  no  doubt,  induce  the  honorable  board  to  lay  these 
matters  before  Congress  as  soon  as  possible." 

Washington  sharing  Steuben's  apprehensions,  in  a  letter  of 
the  3d  of  April,  1780,  laid  the  alarming  state  and  condition  of 
the  army  before  the  president  of  Congress,  which,  on  the  6th 
of  April,  appointed  a  committee  of  three*  to  confer  with  the 
commander-in-chief  on  the  subject  of  his  letter,  together  with 

*  Resolutions  of  Congress.     Dunlap's  edition,     vi.,  52. 


272 


LIFE     OF     STEU  B  E  N  . 


the  report  of  the  board  of  war  and  the  letter  from  Baron 
Steuben.  They  were  instructed  to  proceed  to  head-quarters, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  the  commander-in-chief,  to  effect  such 
reforms  and  changes  in  all  the  departments  of  the  army  as  its 
present  condition  required.  They  were  authorized,  with  the 
advice  of  General  Washington,  "to  reduce,  incorporate  or 
unite  to  State  lines  the  several  additional  corps,"  to  inquire 
into  and  regulate  the  clothier's,  quarter-master's,  commissary's 
and  medical  departments,  to  visit  the  different  posts  and  see 
that  such  regulations  as  they  should  adopt  were  carried  into 
execution,  "to  abolish  unnecessary  posts,  to  erect  others,  to 
discharge  useless  officers,  to  stop  rations  improperly  issued, 
and  to  exercise  every  power  requisite  to  effect  a  reformation 
of  abuses,  and  the  general  arrangement  of  those  departments 
which  were  in  any  wise  committed  to  their  charge,"  and  to 
inform  Congress  from  time  to  time  of  the  measures  they  had 
taken.  The  committee  was  chosen  by  ballot  and  consisted  of 
Schuyler,  Matthews,  and  Peabody.f  They  went  at  once  to 
head-quarters,  and  it  is  due  to  the  reports  which  they  made 
in  the  course  of  the  summer  that  the  reforms  in  September 
and  October,  1780,  were  adopted  by  Congress.  The  com- 
mittee was  discharged  on  the  11th  of  August,  1780. 

Steuben  had  thus  reached  the  object  which  he  had  in 
view  while  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  middle  of  April  re- 
turned with  the  committee  to  head-quarters.  He  accompanied 
at  the  same  time  the  French  minister,  Chevalier  De  la  Lu- 
zerne, who  now  paid  his  long-intended  visit  to  the  commander- 
in-chief.  They  arrived  at  Morristown  on  or  about  the  20th  of 
April,  1780.  Washington  ordered  Steuben  to  perforin  some 
maneuvers  in  honor  of  their  distinguished  foreign  guest.  He 
did  so  first  on  the  24th  of  April,  with  four  battalions,  where- 
upon in  general  orders,  on  the  25th  of  April,  the  commander- 
in-chief,  at  the  request  of  the  ambassador  of  France,  "had  the 

f  J.  Sparks,  in  Washington's  Writings,  vii.,  14  and  15.' 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  2*73 

pleasure  to  inform  Major  General  Baron  Be  Steuben  and  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  four  battalions,  that  the  appearance 
and  maneuvers  of  the  troops  yesterday  met  his  entire  appro- 
bation and  afforded  him  the  highest  satisfaction."* 

On  the  following  day  a  grand  review  was  held  and  highly 
commended  by  Mr.  De  la  Luzerne  and  the  commander-in- 
chief,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  general  order  of  the 
26th  of  April  :f 

"  His  Excellency,  the  minister  of  France,  was  pleased  to 
express,  in  the  warmest  terms,  his  approbation  of  the  troops 
in  the  review  of  yesterday.  Applause  so  honorable  can  not 
but  prove  a  new  motive  to  the  emulous  exertions  of  the  army. 
The  general  has  seen,  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  the  zeal  of  all 
ranks  to  manifest  their  respectful  attachment  to  a  gentleman 
who,  to  a  title  of  being  the  representative  of  the  illustrious 
friend  and  ally  of  these  States,  adds  that  of  having  given 
distinguishing  proofs,  during  his  residence  among  us,  of  the 
sincerest  disposition  to  advance  their  interest." 

*  General  Orders.    Steuben  MS.  Papers. 

f  General  Orders,  copied  in  Steuben's  Order  Book.     Steuben  MS.  Papers. 
12* 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Walker  represents  Steuben  at  Head-Quarters  during  his  Absence. — He  is  only 
partly  Successful. — His  Letters  to  Steuben. — Steuben  returns  to  Head- 
Quarters  in  April,  17S0.— II is  special  Reviews.— Commencement  of  Hostili- 
ties in  New  Jersey. — Steuben  at  Connecticut  Farms. — His  Dispositions  for 
the  advanced  Troops  and  the  Militia  of  New  Jersey. — Steuben  goes  to 
West  Point  to  assist  General  Howe. — He  exercises  and  maneuvers  the 
Troops,  instructs  the  Recruits,  and  controls  the  Arms. — His  Plan  for  the 
formation  of  a  Light  Infantry  approved  by  Washington. — Scammel's  Re- 
port   ABOUT   THE    NEW    COMPANIES. — STEUBEN'S    MEMORIAL    CONCERNING    THE    SAME 

to  the  General-in-Chief. — All  his  Propositions  approved. — Steuben's  Letter 
of  the  28th  of  July. — General  Distress. — Exhaustion  of  the  Public  Credit. 
— Steuben's  Poverty. — He  can  not  buy  a  Tent. — Interesting  Letter  of 
General  Greene. — Bad  State  of  Paterson's  Brigade. — The  Summer  is  passed 
in  Inactivity.— Lowell's  Letter  complaining  of  the  Apathy  of  the  People. 
— The  Arms  expected  from  France  do  not  arrive. — Steuben  collects  as 
many  Arms  and  Bayonets  as  possible.— The  French  Auxiliary  Corps  of 
eochambeau  arrives. — washington  removes  his  head-quarters  to  tappan. — 
Arnold's  Treason. — Steuben  Member  of  the  Court  Martial  against  Andre. 
— He  pities  the  Latter  and  despises  the  Former. — Jonathan  Arnold  changes 
his  Name  into  that  of  Jonathan  Steuben. — His  Petition  to  the  Assembly  of 
Connecticut. 

WHILE  Steuben  was  in  Philadelphia,  Benjamin  Walker, 
his  aid-decamp,  represented  him  at  head-quarters  in 
all  the  business  regarding  the  inspectorship.  He  made  in 
Steuben's  and  his  own  name  repeated  representations  for 
the  introduction  of  a  better  order  in  carap,  and  by  the 
attention  that  was  paid  to  them  produced  a  very  salutary 
effect  in  the  army,  which  this  winter,  for  want  of  provisions, 
credit  and  money,  and  on  account  of  the  extreme  cold, 
suffered  at  Morristown  as  much  as  during  the  encampment 
at  Valley  Forge. 

Steuben  tried  especially  to  get  reliable  reports  about  the 
number  and  the  state  of  the  troops,  as  well  as  about  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  arras,  which  he  had  to  lay  before 
Congress  as  the  basis  for  the  approaching  campaign.     The 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  275 

punctual  delivery  of  these  returns  was  the  more  difficult  as 
the  army,  in  consequence  of  the  inactivity  during  the  winter 
and  of  the  absence  of  Steuben,  relaxed  in  its  discipline.  It 
was  scattered  over  a  very  largely  extended  area  of  country, 
and  thus  the  connection  between  the  different  corps  was  con- 
siderably weakened. 

As  far  as  circumstances  allowed,  Walker  succeeded  in  re- 
modeling the  form  of  the  returns  of  arms  and  getting  them 
made  out  with  more  correctness.  He  was  instrumental  that 
the  general-in-chief  issued  orders  for  the  introduction  of  better 
order  into  the  camp,  and  that  on  the  31st  of  January,  1780, 
he  wrote  a  severe  letter  to  the  commanding  officers  of  each 
brigade,  in  which  Washington  pointed  out  the  several  abuses 
existing  in  their  brigades,  and  ordered  the  necessary  remedies 
to  be  immediately  applied,  and  reprimanded  them  for  the  little 
attention  that  had  been  paid  to  the  regulations  established, 
and  for  their  want  of  order  in  every  respect. 

"  I  now  inclose  you,"  says  Walker  in  a  letter  of  the  24th 
of  February,  1780,  to  Steuben,*  "some  extracts  from  general 
orders ;  they  have  the  appearance  of  a  desire  of  introducing 
some  order,  and  I  can  not  help  thinking  the  general  has  it  at 
heart,  but,  my  dear  baron,  he  is  in  a  difficult  station,  and 
rendered  more  difficult  by  our  unhappy  circumstances ;  and 
the  introduction  of  order  into  such  an  ill  provided  army  is 
nearly  impossible.  Is  there  any  prospect  of  our  being  better 
supplied  ?" 

Walker,  at  the  same  time,  undertook  the  arduous  task  to 
collect  all  the  returns  which  Steuben  wanted  in  Philadelphia 
for  proving  to  Congress  the  exact  strength  of  the  army  for 
the  ensuing  campaign  ;  but  all  his  other  efforts  for  promoting 
the  ends  of  his  general  were  ineffectual,  and  thwarted  by  the 
more  pressing  troubles  to  get  food  and  supplies  for  the  almost 
starving  soldiers.  "I  am  not  negligent,"  writes  he,  on  the 
11th  of  March,  1780,  to  Steuben,f  ".in  my  attendance  at  hend- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ii.  t  Ibidem. 


27G  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

quarters,  though  to  little  purpose.  You  who  know  with  what 
reserve  the  general  conducts  himself  with  those  in  much 
higher  stations  than  myself,  will  hardly  suppose  he  enters  into 
conversation  with  me,  except  at  table.  His  inquiries  are  con- 
lined  to,  '  When  did  you  hear  from  the  baron  ?'  " 

"Notwithstanding,"  says  he,  in  another  letter,  on  the  13th 
of  February,  1780,  "I  did  everything  in  my  power  to  con- 
vince the  majors  of  brigade  of  the  necessity  of  your  having 
the  returns  called  for,  as  soon  as  possible,  only  those  of  six 
brigades  are  yet  come  in ;  those  of  Hand's,  the  second  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  two  Connecticut  brigades  are  yet  wanting. 
In  examining  those  returns  which  have  come  in,  I  find  they 
have  returned  the  men  on  furlough  and  recruiting,  among 
those  who  can  not  appear  under  arms  ;  but  as  I  imagine  your 
intention  was  to  know  what  number  of  men  will  be  actually 
effective  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  and  as  those  men 
will  doubtless  return  before  that  time,  I  shall  deduct  them  in 
making  out  the  general  returns. 

"  Instead  of  the  regimental  returns  being  digested  into 
brigade  returns,  they  have  sent  in  all  the  regimental  returns. 
This,  and  the  many  different  forms  in  which  they  are  made 
out,  makes  it  difficult  to  get  them  into  any  order.  In  general 
returns,  however,  I  shall  do  it  in  such  a  manner  as  will  explain 
every  thing  you  want  to  know,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will 
be  satisfied  with  them.  I  observe,  also,  that  in  their  returns 
of  arms  and  accouterments  they  have  confined  themselves 
to  those  articles,  excluding  the  ammunition,  drums  and  fifes, 
though  I  have  no  doubt  you  meant  they  should  be  included  ; 
but  on  a  retrospection  to  the  list  you  have  sent,  you  say  a  re- 
turn of  t/ie  arms  and  accouterments,  and  they  have  been  care- 
ful to  put  down  no  more  than  was  ordered." 

When  Steuben,  in  April,  joined  the  army,  he  resumed  his 
old  duties.  He  made  a  critical  inspection  of  the  arms  of  all 
brigades,  in  order  to  have  an  estimation  of  the  number  of  arms 
wanting  for  the  service  of  the  ensuing  campaign,  exercised  the 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  277 

troops  and  maneuvered  with  them  on  a  large  scale.  Thus  the 
troops  were  well  prepared,  when,  in  the  beginning  of  June, 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  was  harassed  by  the  invasions  of 
Knyphausen.  It  is  certain,  that  on  the  6th.  of  June,  Steuben 
took  part  in  the  affairs  of  Connecticut  Farms  and  Springfield, 
and  it  is  stated  by  eye  witnesses,  as  for  instance,  Ashbel  Green,* 
that  he  reconnoitered  the  American  posts  on  this  occasion ; 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  Steuben  held  a  command  in  the 
army.  It  rather  seems  that  he  acted  as  the  chief  of  Wash- 
ington's staff.  We  found  at  least  two  documents  in  the  Steu- 
ben Papers,  which  refer  to  this  kind  of  participation  in  the 
events  of  that  period. 

One  of  them,  bearing  date  the  11th  of  June,  1780,  con- 
tains a  disposition  for  the  advanced  troops.  "  All  reports  from 
the  advanced  posts,"  it  orders,  "  are  to  be  sent  in  the  first  in- 
stance to  the  baron's  quarters,  and  all  deserters,  prisoners,  and 
every  kind  of  intelligence  from  the  enemy  are  to  be  forwarded 
to  the  same  place.  General  Maxwell,"  it  continues,  "  will  com- 
mand the  right  wing  of  the  advanced  troops,  consisting  of  the 
first  and  second  Jersey,  and  Spencer's  Continental  regiments, 
and  Tily's,  Frelinghuysen's  and  Webster's  regiments  of  militia, 
and  the  detachment  under  Major  Bryan.  General  Hand  will 
command  the  left,  consisting  of  the  third  Jersey  regiment, 
the  corps  under  Major  Gibbs,  and  Courtland's  and  Stark's 
regiments  of  militia.  In  case  the  enemy  should  advance,  the 
general  has  no  doubt  the  troops  will  defend  their  respective 
posts  with  that  courage  and  determination  which  has  so  often 
distinguished  them ;  but  should  the  superior  force  of  their 
enemy  oblige  them  to  give  way,  they  will  retreat  in  the  fol- 
lowing order,"  etc. 

The  other  paper  is  a  plan  drawn  by  Steuben,  for  the  alarm 
posts  and  plans  of  rendezvous  of  the  militia  of  New  Jersey, 
during  Knyphausen's  invasion ;  but  happily  the  inactivity  of 

*  The  Lifo  of  Ashbel  Green,  by  James  M.  Jones,  New  York,  1844,  p. 
109. 


278  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

the  enemy  had  given  time  to  the  American  army  to  make  dis- 
positions  which  rendered  the  calling  out  of  the  militia  unne- 
cessary, and  consequently  the  whole  was  countermanded.* 

The  commander  in-chief  apprehended  at  that  time,  that 
while  Knyphausen  engaged  the  main  army  near  Morristown, 
Clinton  meditated  an  attack  on  West  Point,  the  key  to  the 
Highlands.  Major  General  Howe  was  in  command  of  that 
important  post ;  but  by  some  was  not  considered  competent 
for  the  task.  Washington,  therefore,  not  to  hurt  the  feelings 
of  that  deserved  officer,  resolved  to  send  a  general  of  approved 
bravery,  experience  and  military  judgment,  to  the  assistance 
of  Howe,  and  paid  Steuben  the  compliment  to  order  him,  just 
in  this  critical  moment,  to  West  Point.  It  was  about  the  mid- 
dle of  June  when  Steuben  left  the  army,  which,  as  late  as  the 
21st  of  June,  moved  from  Morristown  toward  Pompton  and 
further  on  to  the  Highlands. 

"  The  enemy,  the  day  before  yesterday,"  writes  Alexander 
Hamilton,  dated  Whippany,  the  25th  of  June,  I780,f  "made 
a  forward  movement  to  Springfield,  which  they  burned,  and 
retired  to  Elizabethtown  Point.  The  same  evening  they 
crossed  over  to  Staten  Island,  and  there  are  a  great  many  con- 
curring circumstances  which  make  it  probable  we  shall  next 
hear  of  them  on  the  North  river.  As  you  are  at  West  Point 
the  general  wishes  you  to  remain  there  until  the  present  ap- 
pearances come  to  some  result.  He  has  confidence  in  your 
judgment,  and  wishes  you  to  give  your  advice  and  assistance 
to  the  commanding  officer.  As  you  have  no  command  in  the 
post,  you  can  only  do  this  in  a  private,  friendly  way :  but  I 
dare  say  General  Howe  will  be  happy  to  consult  you.  You 
will  consider  this  as  a  private  letter  in  which  I  rather  convey 
you  the  general's  wishes  than  his  commands." 

Steuben  remained  in  West  Point,  and  the  posts  under  its 
control  to  the  beginning  of  August,  when  Arnold  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command.     His  principal  business  during  that 

*  Alexander  Hamilton's  "Works,  vol.  ii.,  p.  42.      f  Ibidem,  vol.  i.,  p.  142. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  270 

time  consisted  in  making  the  necessary  arrangements  for  an 
offensive  campaign,  for  which  purpose  he  especially  exercised 
the  troops,  formed  the  light  infantry  companies  and  procured 
arms  for  the  northern  army.  There  were  in  its  eight  brigades 
about  three  thousand  old  soldiers,  allowing  five  hundred  for 
the  duty  of  the  guards  and  pickets,  and  five  hundred  for  mak- 
ing fascines,  gabions  and  other  necessary  works  for  fortifica- 
tion. About  two  thirds  of  the  old  soldiers  and  all  the  recruits 
were  daily  at  exercise.  To  render  the  recruits  as  serviceable 
as  the  short  time  allowed,  Steuben  agreed  with  General  Howe 
that  none  of  them  were  to  be  employed  on  guard  or  fatigue, 
and  directed  the  particular  attention  of  the  inspectors  to  their 
instruction.  They  were  exercised  twice  a  day,  one  hour  and 
a  half  in  the  morning  at  the  reveille  beating,  and  one  hour  and 
a  half  in  the  evening  before  sunset ;  the  first  six  days  without 
arms  and  wholly  employed  in  learning  to  carry  themselves 
well,  to  march  and  to  dress.  At  this  exercise  the  command- 
ing officers  of  regiments  had  to  attend,  and  they  were  answer- 
able for  the  attendance  of  the  officers  of  their  respective  regi- 
ments, and  that  no  recruit  was  on  any  account  exercised  by  a 
non-commissioned  officer. 

With  respect  to  the  arms,  each  colonel  had  to  give  a  re- 
turn of  the  arms  and  accouterments  in  the  possession  of  his 
regiment,  with  which  he  was  charged  in  an  account  kept  by 
the  inspector  for  that  purpose,  and  the  colonel  on  his  part  had 
to  charge  the  captains,  and  take  receipts  for  those  in  possession 
of  their  companies.  When  more  arms  were  wanted  the  return 
was  to  be  signed  by  the  colonel  and  to  be  countersigned  by  the 
inspector,  and  a  receipt  taken  by  the  inspector  for  the  arms, 
etc.,  delivered  in  return  and  charged  to  the  regiment.  When 
it  had  arms  to  return  it  was  directed  to  deliver  them  to  the 
conductor  and  take  his  receipt  for  them,  which  receipt  they 
had  to  change  with  the  inspector  for  his  receipt. 

Another  object  to  which  Steuben  devoted  much  care  was 
the  number  of  men  absent,  or  improperly  employed  out  of  the 


280  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

regiment.  All  those  on  furlough  were  immediately  recalled, 
and  those  who  came  under  the  latter  description  called  in  and 
exercised.  Standing  guards  which,  notwithstanding  the  many 
orders  to  the  contrary,  were  still  in  existence,  were  at  once 
relieved  ;  the  wagoners,  masters,  and  others,  who  were  old 
soldiers,  so  far  as  possible  changed  for  recruits,  and,  as  much 
as  circumstances  permitted,  discipline  and  improvements  intro- 
duced in  the  corps  of  General  Howe,  which  in  this  respect  was 
utterly  neglected. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1780,  Steuben  laid  the  following 
plan  for  the  formation  of  the  light  infantry  before  the  com- 
mander-in-chief for  his  approbation  : 

"  Each  regiment  to  furnish  one  captain,  one  lieutenant, 
three  sergeants,  one  drum,  one  fife,  and  forty-two  rank  and 
file.  The  colonels  to  be  answerable  that  there  are  in  each  com- 
pany twenty-five  old  soldiers,  who  have  been  wTell  exercised, 
the  other  seventeen  to  be  chosen  amongst  the  most  robust 
and  active  recruits.  As  soon  as  a  regiment  is  augmented  to 
two  hundred  and  ninety  effective  rank  and  file,  the  light  in- 
fantry company  to  be  augmented  to  fifty.  Four  companies  of 
light  infantry  to  form  a  battalion,  to  be  commanded  by  a  lieu- 
tenant colonel  or  a  major  appointed  by  the  commander-in- 
chief.  Two  battalions  of  light  infantry  to  form  a  regiment,  to 
be  commanded  by  a  colonel  appointed  by  the  commander-in- 
chief.  Four  or  six  battalions  to  form  a  brigade,  commanded 
by  a  brigadier — the  whole  to  form  a  division  commanded  by 
a  major  general. 

"  Each  regiment  will  be  obliged  to  keep  its  light  infantry 
company  complete  during  the  campaign  ;  each  brigade  in  the 
line  that  furnishes  a  battalion  of  light  infantry  is,  besides  those 
belonging  to  the  companies,  to  furnish  two  subalterns,  one  as 
an  adjutant,  the  other  as  quarter-master  and  pay-master,  one 
sergeant-major,  the  other  quarter-master  sergeant. 

"  Each  regiment  of  light  infantry  to  be  furnished  in  the 
following  manner : 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  281 

FIRST     BRIGADE. 

1st  Pennsylvania  brigade  to  furnish  4  companies,  which  form  1  battalion,  200 
2d             "                  "                 *       4        "                "              "         "  200 
Jersey  brigade,  with  Spencer's,  to  furnish  4  companies,  which  form  1  bat- 
talion,          200 

New  York  brigade  to  furnish  4  companies,  which  form  1  battalion,        .  200 

SECOND     BRIGADE. 

1st  Connecticut  brigade  to  furnish  4  companies,  which  form  1  battalion,  200 

2d  "  "  "  4  "  "         "  1         "         200 

1st  Massachusetts  "  "  4  "  "         "  1         "         200 

2d  "  "  "  4  "  "         "  1         "         200 

THIRD     BRIGADE. 

3d  Massachusetts  brigade  to  furnish  4  companies,  which  form  1  battalion,  200 

4th             "               "                 "        4           "              "        "     1  "         200 

N.  Hamp.  3  andR.  Isl.  regt.  1,  in  all  4           "              "        "     1  "         200 

Stark's  regt.  2  and  Hand's  regt.  2,  »  4           "              "       "     1  "         200 

Total         .         .         .         .48         .         .         .         .12         .        2,400 
Companies.  Battalions.    Bank  &  File. 

As  early  as  the  16th  of  July,  Washington  issued  an  order 
founded  on  Steuben's  plan,  and  directing  that  one  captain,  one 
subaltern,  three  sergeants,  and  twenty  rank  and  file,  each  from 
five  feet  eight  inches  to  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  were  to 
be  drafted  from  each  regiment  of  the  first  brigade,  and  partic- 
ularly of  the  old  soldiers,  as  light  infantry. 

"  On  the  20th  of  July,"  reports  A.  Scammel  to  Steuben,* 
"I  finished  inspecting  seventeen  companies  of  the  strength 
above  mentioned.  The  officers  made  a  genteel,  officer-like 
appearance  —  the  non-commissioned  officers  appeared  to  be 
well  chosen.  The  men  were  well  fitted  to  the  field,  firm,  and 
well  built ;  their  arms  in  general  good  and  in  fine  order,  and 
nothing  but  the  want  of  clothes  prevented  their  making  a  com- 
plete military  appearance — all  old  soldiers,  and  the  greater 
part  of  them  were  in  the  light  infantry  last  year.  When  they 
marched  from  the  parade  they  appeared  equal  to  the  storming 
of  another  Stony  Point." 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ii. 


282  LIFE     OF     STEUREN. 

In  consequence  of  Washington's  directions,  Steuben,  on 
the  25th  of  July,  commenced  drafting  from  the  second  brigade 
the  light  infantry  in  West  Point,  Fishkill  and  environs.  For 
this  purpose  he  ordered  from  each  regiment  thirty  men  with 
six  sergeants,  out  of  which  number  he  chose  twenty  men  and 
three  sergeants  to  form  a  company.  On  the  22d  of  July, 
1780,  he  wrote  from  West  Point,  as  follows,  to  General  Wash- 
ington : 

"  To  avoid  all  disorder,  which  results  from  drawing  by 
separate  corps,  I  proposed,  in  my  last  letter  to  your  Excel- 
lency, that  the  light  infantry  should  draw  nothing  as  a  sepa- 
rate corps,  except  their  rations,  which  are  to  be  distributed 
by  a  commissary,  the  forage  by  a  forage  master,  the  ammuni- 
tion by  a  conductor,  who  are  to  be  appointed  particularly  for 
the  light  infantry. 

"  The  arms,  accouterments,  camp  equipage,  clothing,  and 
even  the  pay,  will  be  furnished  by  each  regiment  to  which  the 
company  belongs.  For  this  purpose,  the  quarter-master  of 
each  battalion  of  light  infantry  will  keep  his  books  and  ac- 
counts with  the  quarter-masters  and  pay-masters  of  the  regi- 
ments to  which  the  company  belongs.  The  first  regiment  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  furnishes  one  company  to  the  first 
battalion  of  light  infantry.  Then  this  regiment  furnishes  for 
this  company  one  horseman's  tent  for  the  officers,  eight  com- 
mon tents  for  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  eight 
camp  kettles,  and  the  other  equipage  in  proportion,  and  the 
same  wTith  respect  to  clothing,  etc.  I  submit  to  your  Excellency, 
if  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  publish  this  arrangement  in  gen- 
eral orders  before  the  battalions  are  formed,  in  order  that  the 
chiefs  of  the  departments  may  become  acquainted  therewith. 

"  Another  object,  before  the  formation  of  this  corps,  is  to 
determine  in  what  order  the  battalions  are  to  be  formed  in 
order  of  battle,  to  avoid  all  disputes  concerning  rank  and 
posts  of  honor.  By  the  inclosed  arrangement,  the  geograph- 
ical order  adopted  in  the  army  will  be  nearly  complied  with, 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  283 

except  that  three  companies  of  New  Hampshire  are  to  be  in- 
corporated in  a  battalion  with  those  of  New  York.  Thus  the 
order  will  be  as  follows  : 

1.  2.  3. 


_J 


8  Companies,  Penn-  4  Companies,    New  8    Companies,    New 

sylvania.  Jersey ;  2,  Hand ;  2,  Hampshire;  1,  Rhode 

Stark.  Island ;  4,  N.  York. 

4.  5.  6. 


8  Companies,  Con-  8  Companies,  Massa-  8  Companies,  Massa- 

necticut.  chusetts.  chusetts. 

"  If  you  approve  of  this  arrangement,  the  first  and  second 
battalions  will  be  composed  out  of  those  five  brigades  which 
are  with  your  Excellency,  and  the  other  four  will  be  formed 
out  of  the  eight  brigades  here  under  General  Howe.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  first  battalion  of  light  infantry,  furnished  by 
the  two  Pennsylvania  brigades,  can  and  will  be  properly  com- 
posed. The  second,  furnished  by  the  brigades  of  Jersey,  Stark 
and  Hand,  may  be  equally  so,  and  as  for  the  four  battalions 
here,  I  will  take  all  the  pains  in  my  power  to  form  them  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  meet  with  your  Excellency's  approbation. 

"  If  it  was  possible,  my  dear  general,  that  our  whole  in- 
fantry could  be  uniformly  clothed  in  linen  hunting  shirts  and 
overalls,  with  small  round  hats,  cocked  up  one  side,  and  good 
shoes,  it  would  be  the  most  convenient  uniform  for  the  season. 
These  we  can  easily  procure  for  them.  I  will  give  orders  here 
that  all  the  light  infantry  shall  be  provided  with  bayonets, 
and  would  be  much  obliged  to  your  Excellency  to  have  the 
same  orders  issued  for  those  with  you." 

On  the  23d  of  July,  1780,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Washing- 
ton's aid-de-camp,  answered  from  head-quarters  :* 

"  On  the  formation  of  the  light  infantry  the  general  has  al- 
ready written  to  you.  I  presume  it  will  be  ultimately  nearly 
as  you  have  proposed.  .  .  .  Mitre  nous,  it  is  not  easy  to  find 
good  majors  for  this  corps  in  the  Massachusetts  line,  and  as  it 
*  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  vol.  ii.,  42. 


284  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

will  act  a  good  deal  with  the  French  troops,  we  wish  it,  for 
this  additional  reason,  to  be  well  officered.  Prescott  will  an- 
swer the  purpose,  but  he  is  not  yet  to  know  that  he  is  in  con- 
templation. We  shall  not  long  continue  in  our  present  posi- 
tion. The  distinctions  of  departments  are  an  old  story,  which 
now  do  not  exist,  except  with  respect  to  South  Carolina.  You 
are  with  a  detachment  of  the  main  army.  I  dare  say  all  you 
are  doiim*  will  be  found  right." 

"I  have  made,"  reports  Steuben,  from  Fishkill,  on  the  28th 
of  July,  1780,  to  Washington,  "the  necessary  arrangements 
for  the  light  infantry,  and  shall  be  happy  if  they  meet  your 
Excellency's  approbation.  The  companies  are  formed  agree- 
ably to  your  Excellency's  orders.  I  have  myself  chosen  the 
non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers,  and  even  the  arms, 
and  I  dare  Hatter  myself  that  the  corps  will  be  the  admiration 
of  our  allies  as  much  as  the  terror  of  our  enemies.  Thereis 
hardly  a  man  under  twenty  or  above  thirty  years  of  age  ;  thuy 
are  all  robust  and  well  made,  and  have  indeed  a  military  ap- 
pearance, and  as  many  of  the  recruits  have  served  before, 
nearly  two  thirds  of  every  company  will  be  old  soldiers.  I 
have  chosen  from  each  regiment,  besides  three  sergeants,  two 
drummers  and  lifers,  and  forty-two,  rank  and  file,  as  a  re- 
serve. They  are  to  remain  with  their  companies  and  be  ready 
to  reinforce  or  fill  up  any  vacancy  that  may  happen  in  the 
light  companies." 

An  extremely  great  evil  still  prevailing  in  the  northern 
army,  and  arising  from  the  want  of  discipline,  was  the  scarcity 
of  arms  and  provisions,  which  again  led  the  soldiers  to  muti- 
nies, marauding  and  disobedience.  Public  credit  was  totally 
exhausted  ;  the  pay  of  the  soldiers  amounted  to  nothing,  as 
it  was  made- in  entirely  worthless  Continental  money,  without 
allowance  for  depreciation.  The  people  at  large,  especially 
in  the  summer  of  1780,  were  tired  of  the  war,  or  expected 
all  aid,  and  their  deliverance  from  the  British,  from  their 
French  allies.     A  large  French  lleet  and  army  were  expected, 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  285 

and  mostly  on  this  account  individual  exertions  were  thought 
superfluous.  To  illustrate  this  ruinous  state  of  things  we  need 
not  to  quote  hundreds  of  letters  and  complaints  which  we 
found  in  the  MS.  Steuben  Papers.  It  is  more  than  evident 
from  Washington's  letters  and  other  documents  with  which 
the  public  are  already  familiar.  With  respect  to  the  person 
of  Steuben  it  may  suffice  to  state,  that  notwithstanding  re- 
peated applications,  he  suffered  as  much  as  any  other  officer, 
and  that  he  was  even  unable  to  get  a  tent  for  his  own  use. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  mortified" — writes  Nathaniel  Greene, 
then  quarter-master  general,  to  Steuben,  from  Preakness,  on 
the  18th  of  July* — "that  you  meet  with  so  much  trouble  in 
getting  a  few  horses  and  a  marquee  to  cover  you.  Will  any 
man  at  a  future  day  believe  that  a  people,  contending  for  the 
first  rights  of  human  nature,  would  leave  those  employed  upon 
this  important  business  so  badly  supplied  with  the  sinews  of 
war  that  the  common  conveniences  requisite  for  a  soldier's 
comfort  can  not  be  had  ?  Tell  it  not  in  Dan  !  publish  it  not 
in  Askalon  !     But  so  it  is  ;  and  how  can  I  help  it  ? 

"  I  have  no  marquees  here.  There  are  ten  coming  from 
Boston,  and  I  have  given  Colonel  Hay  directions  at  all  events 
to  reserve  one  for  you.  The  saddles  may  be  had  at  Morris's. 
What  shall  we  do  this  campaign  ?  We  are  most  like  a  brok- 
en merchant,  too  poor  to  undertake  any  thing  great,  and  too 
proud  to  attempt  what  is  within  our  power.  Ambition  hurries 
us  beyond  our  abilities,  and  I  wish  it  may  not  expose  our  pov- 
erty in  more  disagreeable  colors  than  we  at  present  imagine. 
It  is  noble  to  attempt,  but  will  it  not  be  ruinous  to  fail  ?" 

If  officers  of  the  highest  rank  were  thus  exposed  to  suf- 
fering and  hardship,  it  was  nothing  but  a  natural  consequence 
of  this  culpable  neglect  that  not  the  least  attention  was  paid 
to  the  wants  of  the  private  soldier.  "  I  esteem  it  my  duty," 
writes  General  John  Paterson,  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1780,  to  Steuben,!  "  to  represent  to  you  the  disagreeable  and 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ii.  f  Ibidem. 


28(3  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

distressing  circumstances  of  the  brigade  under  my  command, 
for  the  want  of  provisions.  Had  this  been  new  or  accidental, 
I  should  not  have  taken  notice  of  it,  but  for  a  number  of  weeks 
we  have  not  had  an  allowance  of  meat  more  than  half  the  time  ; 
particularly  in  this  month  we  have  had  but  seven  rations  and 
a  half.  Should  this  continue,  I  am  fearful  of  the  consequences. 
The  officers,  already  fretted  by  the  treatment  they  have  met 
with  from  the  country,  are,  I  believe,  in  general  determined 
to  quit  the  service  at  the  close  of  the  campaign,  and  unless 
times  have  a  better  aspect,  I  fear  the  others  will  follow  their 
example.  Those  in  my  brigade  are  really  in  distress,  and 
depend  solely  on  the  ration  they  receive  for  their  support, 
not  one  to  twenty  being  able  to  purchase  a  dinner.  It  has 
also  a  very  bad  effect  upon  the  soldiery ;  they,  from  being 
moral  and  peaceable,  I  find,  are  giving  way  to  those  vices 
which  are  the  peculiar  attendants  of  an  army  without  provi- 
sion. 

"  You  may  depend,  sir,  this  representation  does  not  pro- 
ceed from  a  feverish,  complaining  disposition,  but  the  contrary. 
My  wish  is  to  see  the  army  well  supplied,  which  I  think  will 
effectually  prevent  all  those  evils  we  fear.  Resignations,  mu- 
tiny and  marauding,  would  in  a  great  degree,  if  not  totally,  be 
prevented,  and  a  s])irit  of  obedience  take  place  in  their  stead." 

But  there  was  no  money  to  provide  for  the  necessary  sup- 
plies and  the  most  indispensable  articles  of  the  troops,  and  the 
whole  summer  of  1780  passed  away  under  deliberations  whether 
the  army  should  be  confined  to  the  defensive  or  take  the  offen- 
sive. When  Washington  himself  ceased  to  hope  for  any  im- 
provement, was  it,  then,  to  be  wondered  at  that  other  promi- 
nent men,  like  James  Lovell,  for  instance,  gave  up  all  hopes 
that  the  people  would  awake  from  their  apathy  ?  "  What 
course  is  to  be  pursued,"  he  asked  Steuben,  in  a  letter  of 
the  15th  of  July,  1780,  "  when  the  French  fleet  arrives  ?  An 
angel  from  heaven,  warlike  as  the  best  of  Milton's,  could  not 
now  tell.     He  would  be,  as  we  are,  obliged  to  go  into  the  dis- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  287 

tractiog  field  of  ifs,  and  a?ids,  and  buts,  suppositions  and  con- 
jectures. Above  all,  he  would  be  obliged  to  say,  '  If  there  is 
any  true  spirit  remaining  in  the  people  at  large,  we  may  hope 
to  ruin  the  enemy.'  " 

It  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  army  that  just  now,  when  the 
arms  were  most  wanted  for  the  light  infantry  and  the  army  in 
general,  the  expected  supplies  from  France  did  not  arrive. 
Steuben  endeavored  to  procure  them  from  other  sources,  and 
in  concert  with  Generals  Knox  and  Howe  did  his  utmost  to 
get  as  many  arms  as  possible,  and  to  meet  the  immediate 
emergency. 

"  Previous  to  the  reception  of  your  last  favors,"  he  writes, 
from  Fishkill,  the  28th  of  July,  1780,  to  Washington,  "  I  had 
been  informed  of  our  disappointment  in  regard  to  the  arms 
expected  from  France.  Mr.  Izard  made  no  secret  of  this  de- 
tention. The  distress  I  foresaw  this  disappointment  would 
bring  upon  us,  determined  me  on  a  measure  for  w7hich,  if  disap- 
proved by  your  Excellency,  I  must  be  accountable.  I  engaged 
General  Howe  to  write  to  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  I 
wrote  myself,  and  engaged  also  Generals  Huntington  and  Pat- 
erson  to  wrrite  to  them,  to  lend-  us  fifteen  hundred  stand  of 
arms  each,  and  to  send  them  on  immediately,  and  I  have  made 
myself  answerable  for  their  return  whenever  our  arms  arrive 
from  France ;  these  three  thousand,  and  what  we  shall  be  able 
to  collect  from  our  stores,  will,  I  hope,  suffice. 

"I  have  disarmed  all  the  wagoners,  general  and  staff 
officers'  waiters,  and  indeed  every  man  who  will  not  be 
present,  in  rank  and  file,  in  action.  This  will  add  a  con- 
siderable number  of  arms.  With  regard  to  the  recovery  of 
arms  carried  off,  it  will,  I  fear,  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible ; 
it  would  even  be  difficult  to  discover  to  wThom  to  attribute 
such  negligence.  The  field  officers  were  absent  and  the  regi- 
ments commanded  sometimes  by  a  captain,  sometimes  by  a 
lieutenant ;  under  these  circumstances  what  individual  officer 
can  be  made  answerable  ?" 


288  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

How  difficult  it  was  to  get  the  arms  collected  appears 
from  Steuben's  letters  to  General  Knox,  of  which  we  give 
here  some  extracts. 

"As  it  is  very  uncertain,"  he  writes,  on  the  16th  of  July, 
"what  number  of  recruits  may  join  us,  I  am  endeavoring  to 
collect  together  at  this  place  all  the  arms  and  accouterments  I 
can  hear  of.  Those  from  Albany  I  expect  every  day.  I  have 
ordered  on  six  hundred  new  cartridge  boxes  and  two  thousand 
bayonet  belts  and  scabbards  which  were  at  New  Haven ; 
those  from  Morristown  I  beg  you  will  order  here  immediately, 
as  I  imagine  the  brigades  at  head-quarters  will  be  more  than 
supplied  from  those  which  come  from  Philadelphia." 

And  on  the  21st  of  July  he  continues: 

"I  would  be  glad  if  you  would  have  all  the  bayonets  that 
can  be  collected  forwarded  on  this  way  as  soon  as  possible,  as 
the  arms  from  Albany  amount  in  all  but  to  thirty-one  hundred 
and  six,  and  but  nine  hundred  and  forty-one  bayonets.  You 
will  also  please  to  send  orders  to  all  the  laboratories,  that  the 
cartridges  to  be  made  in  future  shall  be  of  the  size  of  nineteen 
to  the  pound,  as  the  generality  of  the  arms  are  French,  and 
the  cartridges  of  that  size  may  upon  occasion  be  used  with 
English  muskets,  and  the  English  size  cartridges  (sixteen  to 
the  pound),  can  not  be  used  with  French  muskets.  I  would 
be  much  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  give  orders  to  all  the 
field  commissaries,  conductors,  etc,  not  to  deliver  any  arms, 
etc.,  to  any  order  but  that  of  the  inspectors,  as  I  have  an 
instance  of  an  abuse  being  committed,  for  want  of  an  arrange- 
ment of  that  kind,  the  other  day,  by  General  Glover's  brigade, 
which  drew  a  large  quantity  of  military  stores  at  Springfield, 
more  than  their  proportion  would  come  to.  Such  an  unequal 
distribution  will  never  do,  my  dear  general,  and  if  you  do  not 
give  the  above  orders  I  must  renounce  having  any  thing  to  do 

with  the  distribution I  have  given  orders  for  whatever 

Glover's  brigade  have  received  to  be  returned  and  distributed 
equally  with  the  rest." 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN,  289 

....  "Among  the  three  thousand  arms  arrived  from 
Albany,"  he  writes  on  the  27th  of  July,  "nine  hundred  only 
have  bayonets,  nor  do  I  know  where  to  procure  them.  We  shall 
also  be  very  short  of  cartridge  boxes.  I  have  ordered  fifteen 
hundred  to  be  repaired  here.  God  knows  if  it  will  be  done. 
These  fifteen  days  past  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  get  the 
arms  from  Chester  to  Newburg,  where  I  have  prepared  a  store 
for  their  reception,  to  deliver  them  to  the  brigades.  I  have 
been  also  ten  days  trying  to  get  the  arms  from  Albany  from 
on  board  the  sloops,  but  neither  the  one  or  the  other  can  be 
done.  My  orders  are  less  respected  than  those  of  a  corporal. 
The  army  is  under  marching  orders,  and  nearly  four  thousand 
are  unarmed ;  the  arms  are  here,  and  can  not  be  delivered 
because  nobody  will  do  his  duty.  There  were  at  Philadelphia, 
I  believe,  five  thousand  arms  with  bayonets,  and  fifteen  hun- 
dred new  cartridge  boxes,  with  drums,  fifes  and  other  articles, 
and  there  are,  I  believe,  one  thousand  arms  at  Carlisle.  In 
our  present  circumstances  they  should  all  be  collected  or  we 
shall  lose  the  campaign." 

Steuben  joined  the  main  army  when,  in  consequence  of 
the  arrival  of  the  French  auxiliary  corps  under  Rochambeau 
on  Rhode  Island,  and  the  movements  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
Washington  crossed  and  recrossed  the  Hudson  ;  and  acted  on 
his  staff  when  he  established  his  head-quarters  near  Tappan. 
Steuben's  services  being  no  longer  required  at  West  Point  on 
account  of  Arnold's  appointment  to  the  chief  command  there, 
he  continued  with  the  head-quarters  of  the  army. 

Towards  the  end  of  September  the  world  was  startled  by  the 
treason  of  the  notorious  Arnold.  His  crime  led  to  the  capture 
of  the  unfortunate  Andre.  Steuben  was  one  of  the  members  of 
the  board  of  the  fourteen  general  officers  appointed  to  examine 
into  the  case  of  Andre,  and  who,  on  the  29th  of  September, 
1780,  were  compelled  to  sentence  him  to  a  felon's  death.  The 
baron  was  exceedingly  afflicted,  relates  North,  with  the  in- 
evitable fate  of  the  unfortunate  British  adjutant  general.     "It 

13 


290  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

is  not  possible,"  he  said,  "to  save  him.  He  put  us  to  no 
proof,  but  in  an  open,  manly  manner,  confessed  every  thing 
but  a  premeditated  design  to  deceive.  Would  to  God  the 
wretch  who  drew  him  to  death  could  have  suffered  in  his 
place!" 

Arnold's  flight,  however,  gave  birth  to  equally  strong,  but 
very  different  feelings  in  Steuben's  breast.  He  let  no  occasion 
pass  to  manifest  his  utmost  abhorrence  of  the  name  and  char- 
acter of  the  traitor,  whose  name  ever  grated  harshly  on 
Steuben's  ear.  It  is  characterized  by  an  anecdote  frequently 
told,  and  published  in  almost  as  many  different  forms  as  nar- 
rators, which  we  give  here  after  Jones,*  in  the  correct  version, 
as  it  was  obtained  from  the  former  neighbors  of  Jonathan 
Steuben. 

"  On  one  occasion,  after  the  treason,  the  baron  was  on  pa- 
rade at  roll-call,  when  the  detested  name,  Arnold,  was  heard 
in  one  of  the  infantry  companies  of  the  Connecticut  line.  The 
baron  immediately  called  the  unfortunate  possessor  to  the 
front  of  the  company.  He  was  a  perfect  model  for  his  profes- 
sion ;  clothes,  arms,  and  equipments  in  the  most  perfect  order. 
The  practiced  eye  of  the  baron  soon  scanned  the  soldier,  and, 
'Call  at  my  marquee,  after  you  are  dismissed,  brother  sol- 
dier,' was  his  only  remark.  After  Arnold  was  dismissed  from 
parade,  he  called  at  the  baron's  quarters  as  directed.  The 
baron  said  to  him,  'You  are  too  fine  a  soldier  to  bear  the 
name  of  a  traitor — change  it  at  once,  change  it  at  once.' 
'But  what  name  shall  I  take?'  replied  Arnold.  'Any  that 
you  please,  any  that  you  please  ;  take  mine,  if  you  can  not  suit 
yourself  better;  mine  is  at  your  service.'  Arnold  at  once 
agreed  to  the  proposition,  and  immediately  repaired  to  his  or- 
derly, and  Jonathan  Steuben  forthwith  graced  the  company 
roll,  in  lieu  of  the  disgraced  name  of  him  who  had  plotted 
treason  to  his  country.     After  the  United  States  had   con- 

*  Annals  and  Recollections  of  Oneida  County,  by  Pomroy  Jones.  8vo. 
Rome,  1851,  p.  441. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  291 

quered  their  independence  our  hero  returned  to  Connecticut, 
and  on  his  petition  the  General  Court  legalized  the  change  of 
name.*  A  few  years  after,  he  wrote  the  baron,  who  had  now 
settled  on  his  patent  in  this  country,  that  he  had  married  and 
bad  a  line  son  born,  and  that  he  had  named  him  Frederick 
William.  The  baron  replied,  that  when  the  son  had  arrived 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  would  give  him  a  farm.  The 
baron  soon  after  paid  the  debt  of  nature,  but  his  letter  was 
carefully  preserved.  A  few  years  after  its  settlement,  Jona- 
than Steuben  removed  to  the  town  of  Steuben,  with  his  family. 
When  Frederick  William  arrived  at  his  majority,  the  letter 
was  presented  to  Colonel  Walker,  one  of  the  baron's  executors, 

*  We  insert  here  a  copy  of  the  petition  found  among  the  Steuben  MS. 
papers  in  Utica,  as  characteristic  of  the  man  and  of  the  spirit  of  the  times  : 
State  of  Connecticut. — At  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  in  America,  holden  at  Hartford,  by  spe- 
cial order  of  the  Governor,  on  the  eighth  day  of  January,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-three  : 
Upon  the  Memorial  of  Jonathan  Arnold,  of  Hartford,  in  the  county  of  Hart- 
ford, in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  shewing  to  this  Assembly  that  he  is  a  ser- 
geant in  the  Continental  army,  and  unfortunately  bears  the  surname  of  the 
infamous  Benedict  Arnold,  once  a  Major  General  in  the  Armies  of  the  United 
States,  now  a  tray  tor  and  deserter;  that  some  time  after  the  desertion  of  the 
said  Benedict,  the  Honorable  Major  General  Baron  Steuben,  pitying  the  Mis- 
fortune of  any  person  Friendly  to  the  American  cause  doomed  to  bear  the 
same  name  with  a  Notorious  Traytor,  offered  the  Memorialist  Liberty  to  as- 
sume the  Name  of  Steuben,  and  by  that  name  to  be  known  and  called,  and 
engaged  to  your  Memorialist,  on  his  taking  and  assuming  the  said  name  of 
Steuben,  to  pay  him  the  sum  of  Two  Dollars  per  month,  during  the  present 
war,  etc. ;   praying  this  Assembly  to  permit  him  to  assume  the  surname  of 
Steuben,  and  by  that  Name  to  be  hereafter  known  and  called,  as  per  Memo- 
rial on  file.     Dated  January,  A.  D.  1783  : 

Be  it  Enacted,  by  the  Governor,  Council,  and  Representatives,  in  Gen- 
eral Court  Assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the 
said  Memorialist  have  Liberty,  and  Liberty  is  hereby  granted  to 
him,  to  take  upon  himself  the  surname  of  Steuben  instead  of  that 
of  Arnold,  and  that  the  Memorialist's  surname  be  Steuben,  and 
that  by  that  Name,  in  all  legal  proceedings,  he  be  ever  hereafter 
known  and  called. 

A  true  copy.  Examined  by 

George  Wyllts, 

Secretary. 


%292  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

who  at  once  executed  to  him  a  deed,  in  fee,  of  fifty  acres  of 
land,  but  which  had  been  previously  leased  to  Samuel  Sizer, 
and  as  the  recipient  preferred  the  enjoyment  of  the  land  to  the 
receipt  of  the  rents,  he  purchased  the  lease,  and  at  once  went 
into  possession. 

"  Jonathan  Steuben  lived  to  become  a  pensioner,  and  died 
some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  since.  His  widow  survived  him  ; 
she  also  drew  a  pension. 

"  In  the  war  of  1  812,  Frederick  William  went  with  the  mi- 
litia to  Sackett's  Harbor,  where  he  was  taken  sick  and  died. 
For  his  services  his  widow  received  a  pension.  He  was  order- 
ly sergeant  of  his  company,  and  with  the  name  of  the  baron 
he  seems  to  have  inherited  at  least  a  portion  of  his  distinguish- 
ing qualifications,  for  he  was  considered  one  of  the  best  discip- 
linarians in  his  regiment." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Beasons  why  Washington,  in  1780,  did  not  assume  the  Offensive. — Steuben's 
two  Plans  of  Operation. — Contents  of  the  first  Plan. — Contents  of  the 
second  Plan,  written  on  the  10th  of  September,  1780.— Washington  acts  in 
Conformity  with  Steuben's  Propositions. 

THERE  were  two  principal  reasons  why  Washington  did 
not  assume  the  offensive  in  1780,  and  strike  a  decisive 
blow.  In  the  first  place,  the  thirteen  States  did  not  furnish 
one  half  of  their  contingent  which  they  ought  to  have  fur- 
nished ;  and  then  the  assistance  from  France,  particularly  the 
fleet,  was  too  long  delayed  to  open  the  campaign  with  them. 

It  is,  however,  interesting,  notwithstanding  this  forced  in- 
activity of  Washington,  to  follow  the  plans  in  detail,  which  he 
formed  in  the  beginning  of  summer.  We  therefore  subjoin 
here  two  proposals*  made  by  Steuben,  which  give  a  clear  view 
of  the  situation,  and  prove  the  ability  and  activity  of  their 
author  in  another  capacity.  The  first  of  these  has  no  date, 
but  it  must  have  been  written  between  the  arrival  of  the  news 
of  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  and  that  of  Rochambeau  in 
Newport,  and,  therefore,  probably,  in  the  beginning  of  June. 
It  reads  as  follows  : 

"  The  great  preparation  made  by  the  belligerent  powers  in 
Europe,  since  last  December,  announced  an  intention  on  both 
sides  to  render  this  campaign  as  decisive  as  possible.  The  in- 
tentions of  the  court  of  France  were  made  known  to  the 
honorable  Congress  the  beginning  of  January  last,  by  the 
minister,  who  at  the  same  time  exhorted  the  United  States  to 
employ  every  effort  in  making  the  necessary  preparations  for 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  TJtica. 


294  •  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

a  vigorous  campaign  on  their  part.  It  is  not  now  necessary  to 
examine  into  the  motives  that  prevented  the  different  Legis- 
latures from  making  the  necessary  arrangements.  But  it  is 
proper  to  know  that,  instead  of  augmenting  our  force,  it  has 
diminished  near  five  thousand  men,  whose  term  of  service  has 
expired. 

"  About  this  time,  also,  Charleston  was  invested,  and  it  did 
not  require  any  superior  knowledge  in  the  art  of  war  to  pre- 
sume the  place  would  fall.  This  has,  in  fact,  happened  ;  and 
by  the  capture  of  the  garrison  we  have  suffered  a  loss  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men.  These,  added  to  the  five  thou- 
sand above  mentioned,  make  about  one  half  the  force  we  had 
last  campaign. 

"  On  the  arrival  of  the  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  the  latter 
end  of  April,  we  were  assured  of  the  intentions  of  the  court 
of  France  to  send  a  fleet  of  ships-of-the-line,  and  seven  or 
eight  thousand  troops,  to  cooperate  with  the  American  forces 
on  the  continent,  in  such  manner  as  Congress  should  judge  for 
the  interest  of  the  United  States.  It  was  then  thought  proper 
to  reinforce  the  army,  and  accordingly  Congress  recommend- 
ed, and  the  States  resolved,  to  raise  troops  for  that  purpose. 
But  the  bad  state  of  our  finances,  with  other  difficulties,  which 
have  occurred,  has  prevented  the  execution  of  these  resolves 
to  the  present  moment.  Such  is  the  situation  of  things  at  this 
time. 

"  The  enemy  having  left  a  garrison  of  three  thousand  men 
at  Charleston,  are  returned  with  the  remainder  of  their  force 
to  New  York,  where  they  have  about  ten  thousand  regular 
troops,  and  four  thousand  new  levies,  in  all  fourteen  thousand, 
together  with  four  ships-of-the-line  in  the  harbor;  besides 
which  it  is  reported  that  Admiral  Graves  has  arrived  at  Pe- 
nobscot with  a  fleet,  the  force  of  which  we  have  not  ascer- 
tained. 

"On  the  other  hand,  we  are  in  expectation  of  the  arrival 
of  the  promised  succor  from  our  allies,  and  expect  to  receive 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  295 

from  the  different  States  the  number  of  men,  and  every  other 
assistance  necessary  to  cooperate  with  them,  and  strike  a  de- 
cisive stroke,  whenever  the  commander-in-chief  shall  think 
proper  to  direct  his  operations. 

"The  several  objects  which  present  themselves  are,  first, 
the  reduction  of  New  York,  with  the  capture  of  the  garrison 
— an  event  which  will  terminate  the  war.  The  second  object 
is  the  conquest  of  Canada — an  event  which  must,  first  or  last, 
take  place,  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  continent,  from  which 
many  immediate  advantages  must  result  to  the  United  States. 
It  will  secure  our  frontier  from  the  savages,  and  by  changing 
the  seat  of  war  relieve  the  States  of  New  York  and  Jersey, 
which  have  so  considerably  suffered  ;  while,  at  the  same  time, 
we  can  take  every  advantage  of  the  French  fleet,  without  the 
assistance  of  which  an  attempt  to  conquer  Canada  must  prove 
abortive  and  ineffectual. 

u  The  third  object  is  the  reduction  of  Halifax  and  Penob- 
scot— objects  important  to  us  in  proportion  as  they  are  perni- 
cious to  the  enemy  by  the  loss  of  their  naval  magazines,  which 
are  of  the  greatest  importance  for  carrying  on  their  opera- 
tions on  this  continent. 

u  The  fourth  object  is  the  retaking  of  Charleston,  by  which 
the  enemy  will  lose  the  whole  fruits  of  an  extensive  campaign, 
and  we  shall  receive  a  principal  port  for  the  exportation  of 
our  most  valuable  produce,  tobacco  and  indigo. 

"  I  might  add  a  fifth  object,  which  is  the  reduction  of  the 
Floridas,  by  the  assistance  of  the  Spaniards,  but  this  appears 
too  distant,  compared  with  the  others. 

"  We  must  now  examine  which  of  these  objects  is  the  most 
important  to  us,  the  most  destructive  to  the  enemy,  and  in 
fact  the  most  decisive.  We  must  then  examine  the  means 
necessary  to  attain  success  in  any  and  every  of  these  objects, 
without  risking  every  thing ;  and  lastly,  we  must  examine 
what  means  we  can  reckon  on  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 

"The  first  object  is  the  taking  of  New  York  with  its  garri- 


^9(1  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

son — without  doubt  the  most  important  of  the  whole.  A  suc- 
cess in  this  will,  in  all  probability,  terminate  the  war.  New 
York  once  reduced,  the  peace,  independence  and  happiness  of 
America  are  established.  To  attain  this  object,  so  important  for 
us,  let  us  consider  the  situation  and  strength  of  the  enemy,  and 
what  will  be  necessary  on  our  part  to  succeed.  The  strength 
of  the  enemy  is  fourteen  thousand  men.  These  are  divided 
on  Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  York  island,  on  each  of 
which  they  are  strongly  intrenched,  and  without  doubt  suffi- 
ciently provided  with  artillery  and  ammunition.  With  respect 
to  provisions  we  are  not  certain ;  but  it  is  very  likely  that 
they  are  provided  at  least  for  three  months.  The  port  of  New 
York  blockaded  and  the  place  invested  by  land,  nothing  re- 
mains for  the  enemy  but  to  defend  themselves  to  the  last 
extremity,  or,  by  signing  the  capitulation,  to  give  peace  and 
independence  to  America.  Can  we  expect  this  but  in  the  last 
necessity?  Let  us  now  see  what  means  we  have  to  force  them 
to  it.  According  to  the  calculations  of  the  greatest  military 
men,  to  invest  a  fortified  place  requires  thrice  the  number  of 
the  garrison.  The  situation  of  the  place  and  other  circum- 
stances, especially  having  nothing  to  fear  from  without,  may 
induce  a  general  to  undertake  it  with  double  the  number  of 
the  garrison ;  but  I  know  very  few  examples  of  such  an  enter- 
prise being  undertaken  with  less,  especially  when  the  most 
expensive  preparations  are  necessary  for  the  undertaking. 
Reckoning,  therefore,  the  enemy's  force  at  fourteen  thousand, 
we  must  at  least  have  twenty-eight  thousand  for  this  enter- 
prise. Our  present  force  is  about  seven  thousand,  and  we 
expect  about  six  or  seven  thousand  French  troops  to  cooper- 
ate with  us.  We  want,  therefore,  a  reinforcement  of  fourteen 
thousand  recruits  to  have  double  the  number  of  the  enemy. 
Our  army  will  then  consist  of  fourteen  thousand  soldiers  and 
fourteen  thousand  recruits.  But  may  we  expect  ten  thousand  ? 
If  we  receive  the  fourteen  thousand  recruits  between  this  and 
the  1st  of  August,  with  respect  to  the  number  of  men,  we 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  297 

may,  I  think,  undertake  the  enterprise.  With  the  arms  and 
ammunition  we  expect  with  the  French  fleet,  and  those  we 
have  now  in  store,  I  think  we  shall  be  sufficiently  provided  in 
that  respect.  I  will  take  it  for  granted  that  the  States  have 
taken  precautions  for  providing  the  army  with  provisions  and 
forage  necessary  for  the  enterprise.  With  respect  to  artillery 
I  suppose  that  with  what  we  have,  added  to  what  the  French 
will  bring,  and  what  the  State  of  Massachusetts  can  lend  us, 
we  shall  have  a  sufficient  number  of  cannon,  but  I  am  not  cer- 
tain if  we  shall  have  a  sufficiency  of  bombs.  I  suppose,  also, 
that  the  States  of  York  and  Jersey  will  furnish  workmen,  arti- 
ficers and  material  necessary  for  constructing  the  batteries  and 
other  works  necessary  for  a  regular  siege.  In  fact,  I  take  for 
granted  that  the  whole  of  the  States  will  exert  every  nerve 
to  assist  in  an  enterprise  on  which  so  much  depends.  In  this 
case  we  ought  certainly  to  undertake  the  enterprise  against 
New  York.  But  as  success  will  depend  in  some  measure  on 
naval  operations,  it  is  necessary  to  compare  the  force  we  may 
expect,  with  that  of  the  enemy.  At  present  we  only  know 
with  certainty  that  the  enemy  have  four  ships-of-the  line  at 
New  York.  What  the  French  will  bring,  or  what  force  Ad- 
miral Graves  has  with  him,  is  uncertain.  We  should,  there- 
fore, consider  whether  we  can  hazard  the  enterprise  with  a 
force  of  three  or  four  vessels  less  than  the  enemy.  This  can 
only  be  determined  by  those  who  are  more  acquainted  with 
naval  operations.  But  taking  it  for  granted  that  we  can,  we 
have  only  to  consider  the  manner  of  carrying  it  into  execu- 
tion. It  is  impossible  for  me  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  the  opera- 
tions necessary  for  the  fleet — operations  in  which  I  confess 
myself  entirely  ignorant.  Nor  shall  I  mention  any  further 
than  it  is  necessary  they  should  facilitate  and  cover  the  move- 
ments of  the  army.  As  the  little  knowledge  I  have  of  the 
ground  is  gained  entirely  from  maps  and  information,  my 
opinion  on  the  operations  of  the  army  will,  doubtless,  in  many 
instances,  be  erroneous,  and  I  submit  it  entirely  to  the  judg- 

13* 


298  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

raent  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  those  officers  who  are 
better  acquainted  with  the  ground  than  I  am. 

"  Having  on  our  part  the  number  of  men  and  means  be- 
fore mentioned,  the  French  fleet  should  enter  the  harbor  and 
immediately  land  two  thousand  men  on  Staten  Island  ;  at  the 
same  time  the  Jersey  brigade,  with  one  thousand  militia, 
should  go  on  the  island  and  join  them.  If  the  enemy  on  the 
island  stay  there  till  this  is  done,  it  appears  to  me  their  retreat 
to  New  York  will  be  cut  off  by  the  fleet,  and  none  left  but  by 
way  of  Constable's  Point  or  Bergen  Neck,  which  I  should 
think  might  be  also  cut  off  by  a  sufficient  force  towards  Pau- 
lus  Hook.  Their  works  on  the  island  must  then  be  reduced 
either  by  assault,  cannonade,  or  bombardment,  and  that  part 
of  their  force,  which  I  estimate  at  from  fourteen  hundred  to 
sixteen  hundred  men,  must  be  ours  whether  we  succeed  at 
New  York  or  not.  In  this  enterprise  I  doubt  not  the  Jerseys 
will  assist  with  a  great  many  brave  volunteers,  who  will  ren- 
der the  success  still  more  probable.  I  do  not  imagine  the 
enemy  will  undertake  to  defend  Staten  Island  without  hav- 
ing reason  to  expect  a  superiority  on  the  water.  But  what- 
ever may  be  their  determination  thereon,  ours  must  be  to  ren- 
der ourselves  masters  of  the  island  as  soon  as  we  possibly 
can.  In  the  meantime  our  army  should  pass  the  North  river, 
and  approach  towards  King's  Bridge.  For  the  safety  of  this 
maneuver  I  suppose  some  frigates  or  vessels  of  force  should 
run  up  the  North  river.  The  enemy  will  then  be  shut  up  on 
York  island  and  the  Heights  of  Brooklyn.  Should  we  attempt 
our  approaches  on  York  island,  the  great  number  of  works 
they  have  would  afford  them  the  opportunity  of  disputing 
every  inch  of  ground,  and  even  where  they  have  no  works 
the  nature  of  the  ground  is  such  that  our  superiority  of  num- 
bers would  be  rendered  useless.  Suppose,  on  the  contrary, 
that  two  or  three  Continental  brigades,  a  large  number  of 
militia,  and  all  the  cavalry  could  shut  up  the  enemy  at  King's 
Bridge,  whilst  the  remainder  of  the  army,  joined  with  four 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  299 

thousand  French  troops,  go  on  Long  Island,  and  form  a  regu- 
lar attack  on  their  works  at  Brooklyn ;  these  once  reduced, 
either  by  regular  approaches  or  by  a  coup  de  main,  the  situa- 
tion of  the  enemy  would  become  critical.  We  could  establish 
batteries  and  bombard  the  city.  The  French  troops  alone 
could  guard  those  Heights,  whilst  all  our  army  might  enter  by 
King's  Bridge  and  shut  the  enemy  within  narrower  limits. 
In  the  meantime  the  fleet  might  enter  the  East  river,  burn 
the  vessels,  and  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  harassing  the 
enemy  in  their  position  on  York  island.  The  remainder  of 
our  operations  follow,  of  course.  If  we  arrive  at  this  period 
of  the  affair,  success  and  glory  will  attend  us.  To  cover  our 
passage  to  Long  Island,  to  keep  open  the  communication,  and  to 
protect  the  vessels  that  may  arrive  to  our  assistance  from  New 
England,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  a  couple  of  vessels  of 
force  in  the  Sound,  which  may  be  detached  for  that  purpose 
round  the  east  end  of  Long  Island. 

"  Allowing  as  granted  all  the  favorable  suppositions  which 
precede  my  plan  for  this  enterprise,  I  would  also  wish  and  ex- 
pect that  all  America,  and  especially  New  England,  would  con- 
cur in  assisting  all  in  their  power,  that  all  privateering  should 
be  suspended,  and  every  vessel,  whether  large  or  small,  should 
be  employed  in  seconding  an  enterprise  of  such  importance, 
on  which  the  salvation  of  America  so  much  depends. 

"  The  more  important  this  enterprise  is,  the  more  ought 
we  to  be  cautious  in  undertaking  it  without  a  certain  proba- 
bility of  success.  Nothing,  it  is  true,  can  be  gained  without 
risk ;  but  prudence  will  dictate  to  us  not  to  hazard  in  one 
unhappy  hour  what  has  cost  us  so  much  trouble  and  danger. 
Let  New  York  be  our  first  object  for  gaining  an  honorable 
peace,  but  let  it  be  our  last  if  we  are  to  risk  for  it  not  only 
our  own  honor,  but  that  of  our  allies.  If  we  are  not  very 
certain  that  the  fleet  of  our  allies  is  at  least  equal  to  that  of 
the  enemy — if  our  land  force  does  not  exceed  that  of  the  en- 
emy by  ten   thousand  men — if  we  have  not  the  necessary  am- 


300  LI  V  B      O  F      STETBEN. 

munition,  provision,  and  other  necessaries  to  the  enterprise — 
if  our  operations  can  not  begin  before  the  20th  of  August — I 
say,  in  any  of  these  cases,  I  reject  all  thought  of  the  enterprise, 
and  refer  to  the  second  object,  which  is  the  conquest  of  Can- 
ada. 

"  I  have  already  mentioned  the  advantages  which  may  be 
expected  from  this  enterprise.  To  them  I  add  two  other  mo- 
tives, which  appear  to  me  important.  In  the  first  place,  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country  who  are  well  affected  to  our  cause 
have  been  in  anxious  expectation  of  our  assistance  since  the 
taking  of  the  northern  army.  Seeing  that  we  do  nothing  for 
their  assistance,  they  will  detach  themselves  from  our  interest, 
and  attach  themselves  to  the  enemy.  In  the  second  place,  we 
can  never  hope  so  favorable  an  opportunity  as  the  present, 
when  we  have  a  French  fleet  and  army  to  second  the  enter- 
prise. The  reciprocal  attachment  the  Canadians  and  French 
have  for  each  other,  would  also  make  both  act  with  more  zeal 
and  vigor.  In  this  enterprise,  as  well  as  that  against  New 
York,  I  would  also  suppose  the  superiority  of  the  French 
fleet,  without  which  all  the  operations  will  be  attended  with 
much  difficulty.  But,  taking  the  superiority  for  granted,  I 
would  desire  that  the  fleet  should  enter  the  port  of  Newport 
and  land  and  refresh  the  troops ;  the  ships  named  for  the  ex- 
pedition, with  half  the  French  troops,  should  then  proceed  for 
the  river  St.  Lawrence,  provided  with  every  thing  necessary 
for  the  siege  of  Quebec,  and  with  four  thousand  stand  of  arms, 
with  ammunition,  to  distribute  to  the  Canadians  who  would 
join  ;  the  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  brigades  to  be  also 
embarked  on  the  French  fleet,  and  joined  with  the  French  for 
this  expedition  ;  Stark's  and  Hand's  brigades  to  go  up  the  Con- 
necticut river,  and  enter  Canada  by  the  road  made  by  Colonel 
Hazen,  and  form  a  junction  with  the  French  troops. 

"The  taking  of  Quebec  would  certainly  be  the  principal 
object  in  this  expedition  ;  but  we  should  put  ourselves  in  a 
state  of  safetv  in  the  country,  even  should  Quebec  not  be  re- 


L  I  V  K     OF     S  T  B  U  B  EN.  :101 

duced  in  the  course  of  this  campaign.  If  I  am  not  wrongly 
informed,  the  river  St.  Lawrence  forms  a  strait  twenty  four 
miles  below  Quebec,  where  the  channel  does  not  permit  the 
entry  of  more  than  one  vessel  at  the  time,  by  which  means 
the  passage  to  Quebec  may,  perhaps,  be  disputed  by  some 
vessels  or  frigates.  However,  of  this  the  old  French  seamen 
will  be  the  best  judges.  The  little  general  knowledge  I  have 
of  that  country  does  not  permit  me  to  sketch  out  a  plan  for 
the  operations  which  may  be  practicable.  This  expedition 
will  change  our  campaign  in  this  quarter  to  a  defensive  one. 
We  shall  have  the  troops  from  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  joined  with  three 
thousand  French  troops,  the  cavalry,  and  in  case  of  necessity, 
a  body  of  militia,  to  keep  the  enemy  in  New  York.  I  even 
think  wre  might  do  this  and  reserve  a  detachment  of  French 
troops  at  Newport. 

"  Should  the  enemy  send  any  detachments  from  New  York 
we  shall  perhaps  be  able  with  the  help  of  the  French  vessels 
left  on  our  coasts,  to  form  an  expedition  against  Penobscot  or 
some  other  place.  The  expedition  against  New  York  being- 
laid  aside,  the  danger  wrould  not  be  so  imminent,  should  we, 
instead  of  twelve  or  fourteen  thousand,  receive  only  seven 
or  eight  thousand  recruits,  and  it  is  in  this  case  that  I  would 
propose  an  expedition  to  Canada,  not  to  lose  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  the  French  fleet  and  army. 

"  The  third  object  which  presents  itself  is  the  conquest  at 
Halifax,  on  which  I  can  say  nothing.  It  seems  to  me  that  this 
should  be  undertaken  only  in  case  we  can  not  hope  for  success 
from  the  first  and  second  objects  ;  that  then  we  should  keep 
with  our  army  entirely  on  the  defensive,  and  leave  this  expe- 
dition entirely  to  the  French  general  and  admiral. 

u  The  fourth  object  is  the  retaking  of  Charleston  ;  certainly 
a  very  interesting  object  for  us,  but  equally  difficult  and  ex- 
pensive. And  as  this  seasou  will  not  permit  us  to  act  in  that 
country,  I  am  of  opinion  that  after  having  tried  something  to. 


302  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

the  northward  we  may  then  see  what  is  to  be  done  in  that 
warm  climate  in  a  season  more  advanced,  and  consequently 
more  favorable  for  military  operations. 

"  I  say  little  of  the  conquest  of  Florida.  If  our  southern 
States  should  perceive  that  the  Spaniards  have  any  real  inten- 
tion against  that  quarter,  I  doubt  not  they  will  afford  every 
assistance  the  proximity  of  their  situation  permits." 

The  second  proposition  bears  date  the  10th  of  September, 
1780,  therefore,  at  a  time  when  the  proposed  attack  against 
New  York  was  already  abandoned,  and  Washington  obliged  to 
confine  himself  to  the  defensive  from  want  of  troops.  It  is  a 
very  able  expose,  and  contains  ideas  and  historical  parallels 
which  prove  that  Steuben  was  an  able  staff  officer  and  a  credit 
to  his  military  school,  even  in  this  line.     It  is  as  follows : 

u  By  the  state  of  affairs  that  your  Excellency  has  been 
pleased  to  lay  before  the  council  of  war,  our  situation  seems 
such  that  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  to  determine  what 
should  be  our  operations  during  the  course  of  this  campaign. 
The  only  thing  that  appears  certain  is  that  neither  circum- 
stances nor  the  means  we  have,  permit  us  at  the  present  mo- 
ment to  think  of  any  offensive  operation  whatever.  What 
can  be  undertaken  against  an  enemy  placed  on  three  islands, 
superior  in  naval  force,  and  at  least  equal  in  land  force,  with- 
out mentioning  the  advantages  that  an  army  of  veterans  has 
over  one,  the  half  of  which  is  composed  of  young  recruits  ? 
We  can  not  even  expect  to  keep  them  within  their  limits. 
They  have  it  in  their  power  to  pass  the  rivers  and  make  incur- 
sions wherever  they  think  proper,  and  I  shall  be  much  aston- 
ished if  the  enemy  do  not  assemble  their  whole  force,  pass  the 
river  and  try  to  engage  us  in  a  general  action.  If  any  con- 
sideration prevents  them  it  is  that,  having  so  large  a  propor- 
tion of  German  troops,  they  are  apprehensive  of  their  desert- 
ing on  such  an  occasion,  while  the  English  fleet  blocks  the 
port  of  New  York,  and  thereby  prevents  a  junction  with  the 
French  troops. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  303 

"  Let  us  examine  what  the  enemy  could  risk  by  such  an 
enterprise.  We  could  not  hinder  their  debarkation  ;  they  can 
take  a  position  opposite  to  ours,  and  keep  up  a  sure  commu- 
nication to  their  vessels  on  the  river,  and  to  Paulus  Hook. 
They  can  from  thence  examine  our  position,  which,  in  my  opin- 
ion, is  good  for  defense  in  front,  and  even  on  the  flank ;  but  so 
soon  as  the  enemy  make  a  movement  towards  our  left,  we  shall 
be  obliged  to  quit  this  position,  to  gain  a  march  of  them  towards 
King's  Ferry.  In  either  case  we  are  exposed  to  a  general  af- 
fair, in  which,  for  the  above-mentioned  reasons,  the  enemy  has 
no  other  risk  but  a  repulse.  In  an  army  of  old  soldiers  a  check 
exposes  it  only  to  the  loss  of  a  certain  number  of  men  ;  but 
in  an  army  composed  of  one  half  recruits,  a  check  often  brings 
on  a  total  defeat.  If  our  position  was  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  North  river,  that  a  body  of  militia,  mixed  with  some  light 
troops,  could  threaten  their  rear  and  cut  off  their  communi- 
cation, in  that  case  we  might,  I  think,  venture  to  offer  them  a 
general  action. 

"  I  repeat  that  I  think  our  position  advantageous.  Our  front 
is  covered  by  Hackensack  river,  and  by  throwing  some  large 
trees  in  it,  at  the  places  where  it  may  be  forded,  the  enemy 
might  be  prevented  from  forcing  a  passage  to  a  good  distance 
on  our  left.  But  if  this  position  had  been  one  or  two  marches 
further  from  the  place  where  the  enemy  could  debark,  without 
losing  sight  of  the  two  objects  we  have  in  view,  which  are  the 
communication  writh  Pennsylvania  and  with  King's  Ferry,  I 
confess  I  should  think  it  more  advantageous.  But  in  this  case 
we  must  abandon  Dobbs's  Ferry,  which  I  should  think  can  be 
easily  reoccupied,  whenever  our  circumstances  will  permit  us 
to  act  offensively.  In  our  present  situation  I  can  not  think  it 
of  any  great  utility,  and  I  fear  that  the  enemy  will  one  day 
carry  it  without  our  being  able  to  secure  it. 

"  Upon  a  general  view  of  the  situation,  and  especially  after 
the  unhappy  affair  to  the  southward,  I  think  that  our  only  ob- 
ject should  be  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  till  some 


304  LIFE     OF     ST  K  U  BEN. 

more  fortunate  events  permit  us  to  act  on  our  part.  To  do 
this  I  would  not  only  wish  the  army  to  be  kept  together,  but 
I  should  wish  for  as  speedy  a  junction  as  possible  with  the 
French  troops.  How  far  this  will  be  possible,  both  with  re- 
spect to  the  safety  of  the  French  fleet  and  the  subsistence,  in 
case  they  join,  I  confess  I  am  not  able  to  judge.  But  suppose 
it  possible,  we  shall  then  be  superior  to  any  force  that  the  en- 
emy can  bring  against  us,  and  they  will  consequently  be  obliged 
to  keep  on  their  islands,  till  the  arrival  of  a  fleet  of  our  allies 
gives  us  an  opportunity  to  change  our  system.  What  appears 
to  me  most  likely  is,  that  the  enemy,  after  the  defeat  of  Gen- 
eral Gates,  will  endeavor  to  push  their  conquest  to  the  south- 
ward, and  being  sure  that  we  are  not  able  to  undertake  any 
thing  against  the  three  islands,  they  will  embark  what  troops 
can  be  spared,  and  make  a  descent  in  Virginia,  where  there  is 
nothing  but  militia  to  oppose  their  progress.  How  to  stop 
them  in  that  quarter  is  the  most  difficult  to  answer.  The  succes- 
sive detachments  we  have  already  sent  have  lost  us  the  troops 
of  six  States.  Always  inferior  to  the  enemy,  and  not  sup- 
ported by  the  provincials  or  militia,  they  have  been  sacrificed 
as  fast  as  they  have  been  sent.  Can  we  now  risk  to  expose 
the  Pennsylvania  line  to  the  same  fate  ?  At  any  rate  we  can 
not  before  the  junction  ef  the  French  troops  with  our  army. 

"  But  suppose  this  line  was  detached,  considering  how 
much  they  would  be  weakened  in  the  march,  by  desertion  and 
sickness,  they  would  not  be  sufficient  to  resist  the  enemy  with- 
out the  assistance  of  a  considerable  corps  of  militia.  So  soon 
as  the  southern  States  have  a  body  of  at  least  three  thousand 
men,  and  we  are  joined  by  the  French,  I  will  not  then  hesi- 
tate in  giving  my  advice  to  reinforce  them  by  sending  the  Penn- 
sylvania line  to  the  southward ;  but  I  should  give  it  up  for 
lost,  if  it  was  to  be  opposed  alone  to  the  efforts  of  the  En- 
glish. 

"  To  attempt  to  retake,  by  detachments  of  our  army,  what 
we  have  lost  in  that  quarter,  we  shall  in  the  end  be  defeated 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  305 

by  detail.  I  could  cite  many  examples  in  Europe  where  whole 
armies  have  been  defeated  by  detachment.  Prince  Eugene, 
against  the  French,  risked  his  reputation  and  the  loss  of  the 
house  of  Austria  for  having  weakened  his  army  by  detach- 
ment— he  was  totally  defeated  by  detail.  But  our  own  expe- 
rience will  suffice.  The  troops  of  six  States  have  already  been 
lost,  and  if  these  States  can  not,  or  will  not,  replace  their 
troops,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  would  at  last  be  left  to 
defend  the  whole  thirteen  States. 

"  To  detach  any  part  of  the  army  at  present  seems  to  me 
of  more  dangerous  consequences  than  any  progress  the  enemy 
can  make  to  the  southward.  In  fact,  they  can  only  ravage  the 
country,  and  this  we  can  not  hinder  even  with  a  superior  force  ; 
and  should  they  take  possession  of  any  places  on  the  coast,  so 
soon  as  the  maritime  forces  of  our  allies  become  superior  to 
theirs  on  their  coast,  they  must  abandon  them. 

"  However  critical  our  situation  may  seem  at  present,  the 
moment  the  second  division  of  the  French,  or  a  fleet  from  the 
West  Indies,  arrives  on  the  coast,  the  face  of  affairs  will  en- 
tirely change. 

"  The  greatest  danger,  in  my  opinion,  that  can  threaten 
the  country  is  a  defeat  of  our  army.  The  disaffected  would 
then  raise  their  heads,  the  people  would  be  discouraged,  and 
all  our  resources  become  more  difficult.  We  should  even  in 
that  case  lose  every  advantage  that  we  might  reap  from  the 
arrival  of  a  fleet  of  our  allies  to  our  assistance.  My  opinion 
then  is  absolutely  this,  to  play  a  sure  game,  and  rather  suffer 
some  little  insult  than  risk  the  whole ;  to  keep  our  army  to- 
gether as  much  as  possible,  and  prepare  ourselves  to  act  with 
vigor  when  our  allies  arrive  to  our  assistance. 

"  To  these  observations  I  must  add,  that  the  only  assistance 
we  ought  to  give  to  the  southern  States  would  be  to  send  one 
or  two  officers  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  order  established 
in  our  army,  to  give  the  necessary  instructions  to  the  new 
officers  the  States  will  be  obliged  to  create.     This  is,  I  think, 


806  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

all  we  can  do  in  the  present  moment.  But  should  a  fleet  of 
our  allies  arrive,  and  put  us  in  a  situation  to  act  offensively, 
what  are  the  objects  which  then  present  themselves  to  our 
operations  ?  The  season  and  the  strength  of  our  allies  must 
decide  this.  The  enterprise  against  New  York  appears  out 
of  the  question  for  this  campaign,  at  least  if  we  have  not  a 
superiority  by  sea  by  the  15th  instant ;  and  even  then  I  think 
the  force  we  have,  which  is  not  half  from  what  was  demanded 
from  the  States,  will  not  permit  us  to  hazard  it. 

"The  second  object  is  Charleston,  against  which  an  ad- 
vantageous expedition  may  be  carried  on  by  sending  two 
or  three  thousand  men  to  reinforce  those  already  to  the 
southward.  With  the  rest  of  our  army  we  must  take  a  posi- 
tion in  the  mountains  of  West  Point.  The  French  fleet  and 
army  at  Rhode  Island,  joined  with  those  we  expect,  will  be 
able  to  carry  on  the  operations  on  the  sea  side,  whilst  five 
or  six  thousand  men  from  us  can  shut  them  within  their 
lines  at  Charleston.  The  climate  of  that  country  will  per- 
mit us  to  act  in  winter.  The  harvest  has  been  abundant 
both  in  rice  and  corn,  and  the  country  abounds  in  cattle. 
Nothing  then  is  wanting  but  proper  arrangements  to  sup- 
port the  troops  destined  for  the  expedition  during  their  ope- 
rations. 

"  With  regard  to  an  expedition  against  Canada,  I  must 
confess  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  situation  of 
that  country.  I  am  told  that  an  expedition  by  land  is  most 
practicable  during  the  winter.  If  an  excursion  with  a  small 
corps  is  meant,  I  believe  it ;  but  if  we  mean  to  maintain  our 
ground,  I  think  the  cooperation  of  a  fleet  in  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence is  absolutely  necessary,  and  how  far  this  can  take  place 
in  winter,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  judge. 

"  The  other  objects  are  Halifax  and  Penobscot,  the  latter 
of  the  least  importance.  The  operations  by  sea  have  too  much 
influence  in  these  enterprises  for  me  to  form  any  judgment  of 
them. 


LIFE      OP     STEUBEN.  307 

"  In  all  cases  we  should  endeavor  to  draw  advantage  from 
the  arrival  of  a  fleet,  proportioned  to  the  superiority  it  gives 
us  over  the  enemy.  This  we  may  do,  provided  we  keep  our 
army  together,  and  are  ready  to  act  immediately  on  their  ar- 
rival." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

History  of  the  Inspection  of  the  Army,  from  the  19th  of  February,  1779,  to 
the  25th  of  September,  1780. — General  Order  of  the  12th  of  May,  1779,  con- 
firms the  Resolutions  of  Congress,  and  defines  the  Duties  of  Inspector 
General,  Assistant  Inspectors,  and  Brigade  Majors. — The  Adjutant  General 
for  the  Time  appointed  Assistant  Inspector. — Regular  monthly  Inspec- 
tion of  the  Troops  ordered  by  Washington. — The  Muster-Master's  and  In- 
spector's Departments  united.— Steuben's  Proposals  of  the  7th  of  May, 
1780. — The  Inspection  extended  to  the  Cavalry  and  Artillery. — Increase  of 
the  Assistant  Inspectors. — Resolution  of  the  25th  of  September,  178i>.— 
Steuben  not  satisfied  with  it. —His  Letter  to  Washington  of  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1780,  specifies  his  Objections. — He  continues  to  act  on  the  Staff  of 
the  General-in-Chief. — His  Plan  for  the  daily  Meeting  of  the  General- 
in-Chief  with  the  General  Officers. — His  Services  in  the  new  Formation  of 
the  Army. — Resolutions  of  Congeess  of  the  3d  and  11th  of  October,  1780  ; 
the  Latter  correcting  the  Former  by  advice  of  Washington,  based  on 
Steuben's  Opinion. — Excellence  of  Washington's  Staff. — Steuben's  Letter  to 
Washington  about  the  Adoption  of  the  new  Arrangement. — He  proposes 
another  Division  of  the  Cavalry. — He  details  his  Plan  for  the  Formation  of 
a  new  Army. — His  Reasons  for  the  Same. — Steuben  is  sent  South. — His  De- 
parture a  serious  Injury  to  tice  Discipline  of  the  Army. 

WE  have  seen  in  chapter  IX.  that  on  the  19th  of  February, 
1779,  Congress,  repealing  all  former  temporary  orders, 
issued  by  the  commander-in-chief,  first  resolved  on  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  the  department  of  inspector  general. 
This  plan  was  somewhat  modified  by  the  resolution  of  the  25th 
of  September,  1780. 

We  propose  to  give  in  this  chapter  the  acts,  orders  and 
memorials  constituting  the  exterior  progress  of  the  inspector- 
ship for  the  period  included  between  the  first  and  second  reso- 
lutions, viz.,  from  the  19th  of  February,  1779,  till  the  25th  of 
September,  1780. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  furnished  ample  proof  that 
the  office  of.  inspector  was  without  doubt  the  most  important 
in  the  army,  and  that  Steuben's  preeminence  is  principally 
based  upon  his  labors  in  this  department.     He  created  it,  and 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  309 

in  spite  of  the  ill  feelings,  suspicion  and  animosity  of  the  gen- 
eral officers  at  the  beginning,  gradually  extended  its  duties, 
and  finally  succeeded  in  convincing  the  whole  army  of  its 
pressing  necessity.  Without  his  energy  the  Americans  would 
never  have  gained  confidence  in  their  own  strength  nor  learned 
to  turn  to  account  apparently  adventitious  circumstances. 

In  consequence  of  the  resolve  of  the  18th  of  February, 
1779,  Steuben  formed  his  system  of  regulations,  which,  as 
stated  above,  was  approved  by  Congress,  and  ordered  to  be 
published  on  the  29th  of  March,  1779.  "Congress  having 
established  a  system  of  regulations,"  say  the  general  orders 
of  the  12th  of  May,  1779,*  "the  commander-in-chief  flatters 
himself  that  all  officers  will  zealously  employ  themselves  to 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  them,  and  with  all  possi- 
ble punctuality  and  dispatch  put  them  in  practice  within  the 
limits  of  their  respective  commands.  To  forward  this  desir- 
able purpose,  the  inspector  general  is  immediately  to  enter 
upon  the  exercise  of  his  office  as  established  by  Congress. 

"  He  will  take  care  that  copies  of  the  Regulations  are  dis- 
tributed to  all  the  regiments,  one  for  each  officer,  who  is  to  be 
answerable  for  it,  and  in  case  he  quits  the  regiment  is  to  de- 
liver it  up  to  the  commanding  officer.  He  will  give  the  neces- 
sary instructions  to  the  sub-inspectors  and  majors  of  brigade, 
relative  to  the  duties  they  are  to  perform.  He  will  see  that  a 
uniform  formation  takes  place  forthwith  in  the  several  regi- 
ments, and  whenever  he  perceives  a  regiment  so  far  reduced 
as  not  to  be  able  to  turn  out  under  arms  the  number  prescribed 
for  forming  a  battalion  he  is  to  report  the  same  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief that  the  necessary  arrangements  may  be  made 
accordingly ;  for  the  present  the  battalions  to  be  divided  into 
eight  companies,  from  which  the  light  infantry  will  be  drawn. 
He  will  by  turns  visit  the  different  regiments  at  the  hours  of 
exercise,  and  see  that  every  thing  is  conducted  in  strict  con- 
formity with  the  regulations.  He  will  at  all  times  pay  particular 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 


310  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

attention  that  the  service  of  the  guards  be  performed  with 
the  greatest  exactness." 

On  the  22d  of  May  the  duties  of  the  sub-inspectors  were 
defined  by  the  following  general  orders  : 

"  The  sub-inspectors  have  to  consider  themselves  as  under 
the  orders  of  the  commanding  officers  of  the  divisions  to  which 
they  belong.  They  are  to  receive  their  instructions  relative 
to  the  department,  from  the  inspector  general,  and  to  see  that 
the  new  regulations  are  carried  strictly  into  execution ;  they  will 
take  the  general  orders  from  the  adjutant  general  and  commu- 
nicate them  to  their  major  generals ;  they  are  to  receive  all  di- 
vision orders  and  communicate  them  to  the  majors  of  brigade. 
When  their  division  is  detached  they  are  to  perform  the  du- 
ties of  adjutant  general.  On  a  march  they  remain  with  the 
general  commanding  the  division,  and  assist  in  executing  the 
maneuvers.  In  camp  or  garrison  they  are  to  see  that  the 
established  duties  are  regularly  performed,  and  particularly  to 
attend  to  the  formation,  and  above  all,  to  the  service  of  the 
guards ;  to  take  care  that  all  orders  are  communicated  with 
precision  and  dispatch,  to  see  the  brigade  majors  themselves 
take  the  order  from  the  adjutant  general,  and  in  case  a  bri- 
gade major  is  sick,  that  duty  must  be  performed  by  some  other 
major  in  the  brigade,  or  by  the  oldest  captain.  To  see  the 
brigade  majors  keep  their  ...  *  and  detail  in  exact  order, 
and  that  no  regiment  furnishes  more  than  its  proportion  for 
duty.  In  camp  to  have  two  orderly  sergeants  from  the  divi- 
sion to  carry  orders,  and  on  march  a  dragoon  for  that  pur- 
pose." 

On  the  20th  of  June  the  duties  of  the  brigade  majors  were 
likewise  defined  by  general  orders  : 

"They  had  to  consider  themselves  as  under  the  orders 

of  the  officer  commanding  the  brigade,  and  to  receive  their 

instructions   relative  to  the   department  from  the  inspector 

general ;  to  remain  on  all  occasions  with  the  brigade  ;  to  keep 

*  Torn  off  in  the  original. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN  31] 

the  details  and  see  that  every  thing  prescribed  in  the  regu- 
lations is  carried  strictly  into  execution  ;  to  be  present  at  the 
formation  of  all  guards  and  detachments  from  the  brigade, 
and  see  that  they  are  formed  agreeably  to  the  rules  estab- 
lished ;  to  receive  the  general  orders  from  the  adjutant  gen- 
eral, and  direct  orders  from  the  sub-inspector,  both  of  which 
they  are  to  communicate  to  their  brigadier,  and  having  added 
those  he  may  issue,  communicate  the  whole  through  the  adju- 
tants to  the  several  regiments  in  the  brigade.  If  a  brigade 
major  is  hindered,  by  sickness  or  any  other  cause,  from  attend- 
ing for  orders,  he  is  to  inform  the  brigadier  who  is  to  order 
another  major  or  the  oldest  captain  to  attend  in  his  stead  ;  in 
camp  to  have  an  orderly  sergeant ;  extraordinary  orders  to  be 
sent  from  the  adjutant  general  to  the  nearest  major  of  brigade, 
noting  on  the  order  the  hour  he  sent  it.  The  brigade  major 
having  taken  a  copy  will  immediately  dispatch  it  to  the  next, 
noting  the  hour,  etc.,  etc. ;  so  with  the  rest  till  it  returns  to  the 
adjutant  general.  When  a  brigade  major  leaves  the  brigade 
to  go  for  orders  or  any  other  purpose,  he  must  leave  an  adju- 
tant to  perform  his  duty  in  case  any  order  come  during  his 
absence.  To  regulate  their  watches  by  the  adjutant  general, 
that  the  different  beats  may  begin  at  the  same  time  ;  the  bri- 
gade major  of  the  day  to  attend  the  formation  of  all  detach- 
ments in  camp." 

Congress,  on  the  22d  of  June,  1779,  appointed  the  adjutant 
general,  for  the  time  being,  assistant  inspector  general.*  On 
the  1st  of  July,  Washington  directed  the  regular  monthly  in- 
spections of  the  troops,  by  the  following  general  orders  :f 

"  The  whole  army  for  the  future  to  undergo  a  monthly  in- 
spection, in  which  the  state  of  the  arms,  accouterments,  cloth- 
ing, and  camp  equipage,  is  to  be  carefully  examined.  At 
these  inspections  the  following  returns  to  be  made  to  the  in- 
spector : 

"  1.  A  return  of  the  strength  of  each  company  regimentally 

*  Journals  of  Congress,  v.,  264.  \  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica, 


312  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

digested,  accounting  for  all  absentees,  together  with  the  alter- 
ation since  the  last  return. 

"  2.  A  return  of  the  different  articles  of  clothing  in  pos- 
session of  each  corps,  with  the  quantity  received,  lost,  worn 
out,  or  otherwise  deficient,  since  the  last  inspection. 

"  3.  A  return  of  arras,  ammunition  and  accouterments  of 
each  company,  accounting  for  the  alterations,  and  distinguish- 
ing such  as  are  in  the  hands  of  the  men  absent  on  command, 
etc.,  from  those  present." 

It  is  already  seen  that  Steuben,  in  the  course  of  1779,  es- 
tablished, as  much  as  circumstances  allowed,  good  order  and 
discipline  in  the  service,  in  the  exercise  and  maneuvers  of  the 
infantry,  and  the  formation  of  battalions.  His  next  object  was 
to  introduce  economy  in  the  government  of  the  corps,  and  to 
establish  an  administration  calculated  to  stop  the  abuses  hith- 
erto existing  in  the  grant  of  furloughs  and  discharge  of  the 
men,  as  well  as  in  the  waste  of  arms. 

For  this  purpose  Steuben  exerted  himself  to  get  the  mus- 
ter-master's and  inspector's  departments  united  in  one.  He  con- 
sidered this  union  as  the  corner-stone,  and  the  only  solid  basis 
on  which  the  edifice  of  inspection  could  be  erected.  Without 
it  the  inspection  was  nothing  more  than  a  nominal  establish- 
ment, the  object  of  which  was  perpetually  regarded  with 
jealousy.  It  was  inconsistent  with  the  proper  duties  of  an 
inspector  to  review  only  the  men,  while  they  were  to  be  mus- 
tered by  another ;  it  was  impossible  to  discover  and  avoid  the 
disorder  resulting  from  this  duality  ;  it  was  a  wholesale  squan- 
dering of  money  and  time  that  two  duties  which  belonged  to- 
gether were  thus  separated.  Before  the  inspection  was  intro- 
duced, the  muster-master  department  was  supposed  to  perform 
its  task  in  some  way  or  the  other ;  but  after  the  inspection 
was  established,  it  became  a  nuisance,  and  utterly  superfluous. 
"  Redouble  your  efforts,  my  dear  general,"  wrote  John  Ter- 
nant,  from  Philadelphia,  on  the  30th  of  September,  1779,*  "that, 
*  Steubon  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  313 

this  union  may  soon  take  place,  and  that  finally  we  may  de- 
cidedly be  something.  Congress,  some  time  since,  thought 
seriously  of  this  plan,  and  I  let  no  opportunity  pass  to  prove 
to  my  acquaintances  what  large  advantages  would  result  from 
it  for  the  army  and  the  public  treasury.  Everybody  seems  to 
wish  this  change,  and  the  matter  would  probably  soon  be  set- 
tled were  it  not  for  the  ministerial  dispatches  which  engage  at 
present  the  attention  and  the  care  of  Congress." 

Steuben,  however,  finally  succeeded.  Congress,  by  reso- 
lution of  the  12th  of  January,  1780,  discontinued  the  muster- 
ing department,  and  annexed  to  it  that  of  the  inspection,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  commanders  of  corps  and  regiments 
were  compelled  to  give  to  the  inspector  an  exact  account  of 
their  men,  arms,  accouterments,  ammunition,  clothes,  and  camp 
equipage.  It  is  due  to  this  arrangement  that  considerable  sav- 
ings were  effected  in  men  as  well  as  in  the  above-mentioned 
articles.  Only  from  this  time  can  it  be  said  that  the  inspect- 
orship was  firmly  established. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1780,  immediately  after  his  return  to 
the  camp  at  Morristown,  Steuben  laid  the  following  remarks 
before  the  commander-in-chief:* 

"  The  inspection  in  the  army  has  hitherto  extended  only  to 
the  infantry  in  the  line ;  the  cavalry,  light  infantry,  and  inde- 
pendent corps  have  yet  no  other  rules  than  the  articles  of  war, 
resolves  of  Congress,  and  occasional  orders  given  them.  Their 
discipline  and  manner  of  performing  the  service  is  different  as 
they  have  commanders  who  have  each  prescribed  such  rides 
as  they  thought  proper.  This  variety  is  the  greater  in  this 
part  of  the  army,  as  it  has  no  chief  to  establish  uniformity. 

"  The  artillery,  having  a  general  officer  at  its  head,  is  not 
subject  to  that  inconvenience ;  the  service  is  more  uniform, 
and  wants  no  other  inspection  but  that  of  its  general,  or  per- 
sons appointed  by  him.  General  Knox  has,  however,  thought 
proper  to  appoint  an  inspector  of  brigade  to  receive  the  in- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 
14 


314  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

structions  of  the  inspector  general,  and  introduce  them  into  the 
artillery. 

"  By  a  resolve  of  Congress  of  January  last,  the  department 
of  muster-master  was  annexed  to  the  inspection,  by  which  ar- 
rangement every  part  of  the  army,  without  exception,  must 
be  reviewed  and  mustered  by  the  inspectors,  and  an  exact  ac- 
count given  of  the  men,  horses,  arms,  accouterments,  clothing, 
camp  equipage,  and  every  thing  belonging  to  the  Continent. 

"The  department  having  become  thus  extensive,  will  re- 
quire an  additional  number  of  officers,  and  specific  instructions 
in  the  duties  of  the  inspector  general,  inspectors  and  sub- 
inspectors.     The  following  resolutions  will  be  necessary : 

"That  the  department  of  the  inspector  general  shall  in 
future  consist  of  the  following  officers,  viz.: 

"1.  An  inspector  general. 

"2.  An  assistant  inspector  general,  to  be  the  adjutant  gen- 
eral for  the  time  being. 

"  3.  An  inspector  for  each  division  of  the  army,  to  be  a 
colonel  or  a  lieutenant  colonel  in  the  line. 

"  4.  A  sub-inspector  for  each  brigade,  to  be  a  major  or  one 
of  the  oldest  captains  of  the  brigade. 

"  5.  An  inspector  for  the  artillery,  artificers,  general's 
guard,  arid  all  detached  corps  of  infantry,  as  also  for  the 
militia  which  may  join  the  army,  to  be  a  colonel  or  lieutenant 
colonel,  and  to  have  under  his  direction  two  sub-inspectors 
of  artillery,  nominated  by  General  Knox,  one  for  the  main 
army  and  one  for  the  southern  department. 

"  G.  An  inspector  for  the  cavalry,  who  shall  be  a  colonel  or 
lieutenant  colonel,  and  have  under  his  direction  two  sub- 
inspectors,  one  for  the  cavalry  in  the  northern,  and  the  other 
for  the  cavalry  in  the  southern  department. 

"The  two  inspectors  for  the  artillery  and  cavalry  to  be 
always  near  head-quarters,  where  the  inspector  general's  office 
will  be  established,  from  whence  they  will  receive  their  in- 
structions. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN,  315 

uIm  consideration  of  the  multiplicity  of  business  the  in- 
spector general  will  have,  he  shall,  in  addition  to  the  two  aids 
allowed  him  as  major  general,  be  permitted  to  take  one  or  two 
officers  from  the  line  as  aides-de-camp  to  assist  in  the  business 
of  his  office  ;  that  he  be  also  allowed  as  many  orderly  dragoons 
as  occasion  may  require,  to  distribute  his  orders  to  the  in- 
spectors, and  for  every  other  military  purpose  necessary ;  and 
in  traveling  from  one  part  of  the  army  to  another  he  shall 
have  a  sufficient  guard  of  cavalry  to  escort  him ;  that  he  be 
allowed  a  covered  wagon,  with  the  necessary  chests  for  the 
transportation  of  the  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the  office, 
and  that  the  board  of  war  furnish  him  with  the  books,  paper 
and  other  things  necessary  for  the  business  of  the  office : 

"That  each  inspector  be  allowed,  during  the  campaign,  a 
small  wagon  with  two  horses,  to  transport  his  baggage  and 
papers,  and  a  marquee  for  himself;  and  as  one  riding  horse  is 
not  sufficient  for  the  fatiguing  duties  of  the  office,  that  he  be 
allowed  a  good  public  horse,  which  is  to  be  returned  on  his 
relinquishing  the  office : 

"  That  the  inspectors  and  sub-inspectors  be  appointed  by 
the  commander-in-chief;  that  they  keep  their  rank  and  right 
of  command  and  promotion  in  the  line  in  the  same  manner  as 
if  they  had  not  accepted  the  office  of  inspector,  but  that  they 
suspend  the  exercise  of  their  respective  commands,  unless 
when  ordered  to  exercise  them  by  the  general-in-ehief  or  com- 
manding officer  in  a  separate  department;  that  when  an 
inspector  is  ordered  to  review  any  troops  detached  "from  the 
army,  his  traveling  expenses  be  paid  by  the  States ;  that  each 
inspector  be  allowed  a  sergeant  from  the  line  as  a  clerk: 

"The  aides-de-camp  of  the  inspector  general  shall  furnish 
themselves  with  one  horse  at  their  own  expense,  but  as  that 
will  not  be  sufficient  to  perform  the  respective  duties  of  their 
office,  that  they  be  allowed  each  one  good  horse  by  the  public, 
w7ith  the  necessary  allowance  and  forage ;  that  they  be  also 
allowed,  in  addition  to  their  present  pay  as  aides-de-camp,  the 
same  addition  as  is  allowed  to  the  sub  inspectors: 


31 6  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

"That  the  commander-in-chief  shall  give  particular  in- 
structions to  the  inspector  general  relative  to  the  duties  to 
be  performed  by  him,  and  the  officers  in  his  department,  par- 
ticularly recommending  him, 

"  1st.  To  form  a  system  of  discipline  for  the  cavalry  and 
light  troops : 

"  2d.  To  collect  into  one  volume  all  the  resolves  of  Con- 
gress which  relate  to  the  arrangement  of  the  army: 

"  3d.  To  furnish  every  month,  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
as  exact  a  return  as  possible  of  the  state  of  the  army : 

"That  the  inspector  general  always  establish  his  office  as 
near  to  head-quarters  as  circumstances  will  permit;  that  all 
returns  which  pass  through  the  office  to  the  board  of  war 
be  signed  by  him ;  that  no  person  whatever  have  a  right  to 
demand  any  return  or  extracts  from  the  office,  but  by  the 
express  order  of  the  board  of  war  or  commander-in-chief;  that 
in  the  absence  of  the  inspector  general  the  office  be  under  the 
'direction  of  the  adjutant  general,  as  assistant  inspector  gen- 
eral." 

How  far  these  propositions  were  taken  into  consideration 
and  acted  upon  by  Congress,  will  appear  from  the  following 
resolutions,  bearing  date  the  25th  of  September,  1780:* 

PLAN    OF   THE   INSPECTING   AND    MUSTERING   DEPARTMENT. 

"  W/iereas,  The  institution  of  this  department  hath  been 
found  of  great  utility  to  the  armies  of  these  United  States, 
and  experience  hath  shown  that  it  may  be  rendered  still  more 
useful  by  an  extension  of  its  powers  and  objects;  therefore, 

uIZesolved,  That  the  former  establishment,  by  a  resolution 
of  the  18th  of  February,  1779,  and  all  subsequent  resolutions 
relative  thereto,  be  repealed,  and  the  department  hereafter 
have  the  following  form,  powers  and  privileges: 

"There  shall  be  an  inspector  general  with  the  main  army 

*  Journals  of  Congress,  vi.,  190-195.     Session  of  tho  25th  of  September, 

mo. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  HI  7 

of  the  United  States,  to  be  appointed  by  Congress,  who  shall 
be  allowed  two  secretaries,  in  addition  to  the  aid  he  is  allowed 
in  the  line  of  the  army,  to  be  taken  from  the  rank  of  captains 
and  subalterns,  who  shall  receive,  in  addition  to  their  pay,  six 
dollars  per  month. 

"  There  shall  be  one  assistant  inspector  general  with  the 
main  army,  who  shall  be  adjutant  general  for  the  time  being, 
and  shall  receive,  in  addition  to  his  pay,  ten  dollars  per 
month ;  and  one  to  every  separate  army,  when  consisting  of 
two  or  more  divisions,  who  shall  be  the  deputy  adjutant  gen- 
eral, and  shall  receive,  in  addition  to  his  pay,  eight  dollars  per 
month. 

"  There  shall  be  one  inspector  to  each  division  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  one  to  the  corps  of  cavalry,  and  one  to 
the  corps  of  artillery,  to  be  taken,  when  the  service  will  ad- 
mit, from  the  line  of  colonels,  lieutenant  colonels,  who  shall  be 
allowed,  in  addition  to  their  pay,  seven  and  a  half  dollars  per 
month,  and  forage  for  three  horses,  including  what  they  are 
entitled  to  in  the  line  of  the  army,  and  one  extra  ration  of 
provision,  when  the  state  of  the  magazines  will  admit. 

"  There  shall  be  one  sub-inspector  to  every  brigade  in  the 
army  of  the  United  States,  one  to  the  corps  of  cavalry,  and 
one  to  the  corps  of  artillery,  if  thought  necessary  by  the 
commander-in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate  army, 
to  be  taken  from  the  line  of  majors  in  the  brigade,  when  the 
service  will  admit,  who  shall  be  allowed,  in  addition  to  their 
pay,  five  dollars  per  month,  and  one  extra  ration,  when  the 
state  of  the  magazines  will  admit. 

"The  commander-in-chief  and  commanding  officer  of  a 
separate  army  are  hereby  empowered  to  appoint  inspectors 
and  sub-inspectors  to  the  militia,  while  in  actual  service,  agree- 
ably to  the  foregoing  plan,  who  shall  have  the  same  powers, 
privileges  and  emoluments  as  those  serving  with  the  Conti- 
nental army. 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  inspector  general  to  frame  a  sys- 


318  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

tem  of  regulations  for  the  exercise  and  discipline  of  the  troops  in 
the  manual  evolutions  and  maneuvers,  for  the  service  of  guards 
and  detachments,  and  for  all  camp  and  garrison  duty  ;  and  if 
approved  of  by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  ratified  by  Con- 
gress, such  regulations  shall  be  enforced  by  the  order  of  the 
commander-in-chief  throughout  the  army. 

"  The  assistant  •  inspectors  general  shall  assist  in  the  gen- 
eral duties  of  the  department,  agreeably  to  the  directions  they 
shall  receive  from  the  inspector  general,  through  the  order 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  when  the  inspector  is  not 
present,  shall  have  the  chief  direction  of  the  same,  agreeably 
to  the  orders  they  may  receive  as  aforesaid  :  they  shall  never- 
theless continue  to  perform  their  duties  of  adjutant  and  dep- 
uty adjutant  generals. 

"  The  inspectors  shall  attend  to  the  execution  of  the  reg- 
ulations established  for  the  army  in  their  respective  divisions, 
and  in  such  garrisons  as  they  may  be  ordered  by  the  inspector 
general  or  assistant  inspectors  general ;  at  all  times  perform- 
ing the  duty  of  adjutant  general  to  the  same  ;  and  when  a  de- 
tachment of  more  than  one  division  is  sent  from  the  army,  the 
oldest  inspector  of  the  marching  troops  shall  act  as  adjutant 
general  to  the  detachment. 

"  The  sub-inspectors  shall  do  the  duty  of  majors  of  bri- 
gade to  the  brigades  to  which  they  belong,  and  attend  to  the 
execution  of  the  regulations  established  for  the  army,  in  their 
respective  brigades,  and  such  garrisons,  detachments  and  in- 
dependent corps  as  they  shall  be  ordered  by  the  inspector 
general,  or  assistant  inspector  general  with  a  separate  army. 

"  The  inspector  general,  and  the  assistant  inspector  gen- 
eral, shall  review  and  muster  the  troops,  in  service,  once  every 
month,  at  which  review  he,  or  they,  shall  inspect  the  number 
and  condition  of  the  men,  their  discipline,  the  state  of  their 
clothes,  arms,  accouterments  and  camp  equipage,  and  the  num- 
ber of  rations  they  have  drawn  since  the  last  review ;  report- 
ing such  soldiers  and  recruits  as  are  unfit  for  service,  to  the 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  319 

major  general  or  commander  of  the  division,  the  brigadier  or 
commander  of  a  regiment  detached  from  the  brigade  or  di- 
vision  to  which  such  disabled  soldier  may  belong,  to  be  by 
them,  or  either  of  them,  discharged  or  transferred  to  the  corps 
of  invalids  if,  on  the  examination  of  the  surgeon  of  the  reg- 
iment, they  shall  be  found  unfit  for  further  service  in  the  field. 
But  no  such  soldier  shall  be  deemed  legally  discharged  or 
transferred,  except  his  discharge  or  transference  is  signed  by 
the  major  general,  brigadier  or  commandant,  as  aforesaid,  and 
a  certificate  of  his  inability,  specifying  the  nature  of  it,  signed 
by  the  surgeon,  is  annexed  thereto  ;  noting,  at  the  same  time, 
all  alterations  that  have  happened  since  the  last  review  or 
muster,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  in  wThat  manner,  reporting 
them  with  the  deficiencies,  neglects  and  abuses  to  the  com- 
mander-in  chief,  or  commanding  officer  present,  and  the  board 
of  war. 

"  At  every  muster  three  rolls  shall  be  made  out  by  the 
commanding  officer  of  each  troop  or  company,  signed  and 
sworn  to  by  him  ;  one  of  which  rolls  shall  be  returned  to  him, 
certified  by  the  mustering  officer;  one  shall  be  retained  by  the 
mustering  officer,  the  other  shall  be  certified  and  delivered  to 
the  regimental  pay-master,  to  be  affixed  to  the  pay  rolls. 

"  Each  brigade  shall  be  mustered  by  its  sub-inspector,  un- 
der the  superintendency  of  the  inspector  of  the  division,  who 
shall  be  responsible  with  the  sub-inspector  for  the  exactness 
and  fidelity  of  the  musters  ;  and,  in  like  manner,  all  garrisons, 
independent  corps  and  detachments,  shall  be  mustered  by  such 
inspector,  or  sub-inspector,  as  the  inspector  general,  or  assist- 
ant inspector  general  with  a  separate  army,  shall  order. 

"  The  sub-inspectors  shall  deliver  an  abstract  of  all  such 
musters,  regimentally  digested,  to  the  inspector  of  the  divis- 
ion, who  shall  digest  them  into  division  abstracts,  in  the  same 
form,  and  transmit  them  to  the  assistant  inspector  general,  and 
in  a  separate  army,  to  the  commanding  officer. 

"  The  inspector  general  shall  transmit,  once  every  month, 


'320  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

a  copy  of  the  abstract  of  the  musters  of  the  whole  army,  to 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  another  to  the  board  of  war. 

"  No  commanding  officer  of  a  regiment  shall  muster  the 
regiment  he  commands,  but  another  inspector  shall  be  ordered 
to  do  that  duty  by  the  inspector  general. 

';  The  assistant  inspector  in  a  separate  army,  shall  do  the 
same  duties  in  that  army  as  the  inspector  general  doth  in  the 
main  army,  respecting  the  musters,  according  to  the  direc- 
tions he  shall  receive,  and  orders  of  the  commanding  officer. 

a  The  commissary  of  issues  shall  be  obliged  to  deliver  to 
the  inspector  general,  and  assistant  inspectors  with  a  separate 
army,  an  abstract,  by  brigades,  of  the  rations  actually  issued, 
and  of  all  issues  to  all  separate  corps,  garrisons  and  detach- 
ments. 

"  All  muster-rolls  shall  be  sworn  to  before  a  general  offi- 
cer, or  commandant  of  a  separate  post  or  detachment,  who  are 
hereby  empowered  to  administer  the  oath,  and  certify  it  on 
each  muster-roll,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

"  I,  A.  B.,  do  swear,  that  this  muster-roll  is  a  true  state  of 
the  company  under  my  command,  without  fraud  to  the  United 
States,  or  to  any  individual,  according  to  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge. 

A.  B.,  Captain,  Lieutenant, 

"  Ensign,  or  Cornet,  Commandant. 
"  Sworn  before  me.  this       day  of        17     . 

"The  mustering  officers  are  empowered  and  directed  to 
require  from  all  the  officers,  whose  troops  are  mustered,  all 
papers  and  vouchers  relative  to  their  enlistments  and  musters. 

"The  inspector  shall  keep  accounts,  with  officers  command- 
ing regiments,  of  all  the  arms  and  accouterments  delivered 
their  regiments,  and  returned  in  by  them  ;  no  arms  or  accou- 
terments shall  be  delivered  without  an  order  from  the  inspector 
of  the  division,  to  whom  returns  for  arras  and  accouterments 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  321 

wanted  shall  be  made,  in  the  form  directed  in  the  resolution 
for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  troops  of  these  United  States. 

"  All  officers  of  the  inspectorship  shall  retain  their  rights 
of  command  and  promotion,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  they 
had  not  assumed  the  office.  They  are  to  suspend  the  exer- 
cise of  their  respective  commands,  except  when  they  happen 
to  be  the  superior  in  the  division,  brigade,  or  regiment  to 
which  they  belong,  or  when  they  are  appointed  to  execute 
any  particular  service  by  the  commander-in-chief,  or  command- 
ing officer  of  a  separate  army  ;  and  are  exempt  from  all  com- 
mon camp  and  garrison  duty,  that  they  may  attend  to  that  of 
the  inspecting  as  well  in  time  of  action  as  at  all  other  times. 

"  The  inspector  general,  as  often  as  the  commander-in-chief 
shall  think  fit  to  order,  shall  visit  every  part  of  the  army,  and 
review  the  same,  to  see  that  uniformity  prevails  throughout 
the  armies  of  these  United  States. 

"  The  inspector  general  shall  keep  books,  in  which  the 
returns,  etc.,  passing  through  his  office,  shall  be  registered. 
He  shall  be  charged  with  collecting  into  one  or  more  volumes 
all  the  resolves  of  Congress,  and  regulations  of  the  board  of 
war,  relative  to  the  army. 

"  The  traveling  and  other  incidental  expenses  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  business  of  the  office,  shall  be  settled  by  the 
auditors  with  the  army,  upon  such  principles  as  shall  be  estab- 
lished by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  paid  out  of  the  military 
chest. 

"  The  quarter-master  general  shall  furnish  all  necessary 
books,  papers,  etc.,  for  the  department. 

"  Each  inspector  shall  be  allowed,  when  the  circumstances 
of  the  army  will  permit,  a  marquee  and  common  tent ;  each 
sub-inspector  a  horseman's  and  common  tent ;  if  not  provided 
for  as  officers  in  the  line. 

"All  the  regulations  respecting  the  objects  of  this  depart- 
ment shall  be  finally  approved  and  established  by  Congress, 
but,  exigency  of  the  service  requiring  it,  temporary  ones  may, 

14* 


322  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

from  time  to  time,  be  introduced  by  the  inspector  general, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  board  of  war  within  one  month  after  their  intro- 
duction ;  that,  being  examined  and  reported  to  Congress  by 
them,  they  may  be  rejected,  altered,  amended,  or  confirmed, 
as  Congress  shall  deem  proper. 

"Resolved,  That  Baron  Steuben  be  and  hereby  is  contin- 
ued inspector  general  of  the  armies  of  these  United  States, 
and  vested  with  power  to  appoint  all  officers  necessary  to  carry 
the  aforesaid  plan  into  execution,  they  being  first  approved  of 
by  the  commander-in-chief. 

"Resolved,  That  the  assistant  inspector  be  allowed  four  hun- 
dred dollars  per  month,  of  the  old  emission,  in  addition  to  his 
pay  as  adjutant  general,  from  the  1st  day  of  February  last  to  the 
1st  day  of  October  next.  The  inspector  shall  be  allowed,  from 
the  1st  day  of  February  last  to  the  1st  day  of  October,  three 
hundred  dollars  per  month,  of  the  old  emission,  and  the  sub- 
inspectors  shall  be  allowed  two  hundred  dollars  per  month,  of 
the  old  emission,  from  the  1st  day  of  February  aforesaid,  to 
the  1st  day  of  October  next,  in  addition  to  the  pay  and  sub- 
sistence to  which  they  are  entitled  by  their  respective  ranks." 

Steuben  himself  says,  about  these  resolutions,  in  a  letter 
from  Philadelphia,  on  the  23d  of  October,  1780,  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief:* "I  am  not  very  happy  in  the  arrangement 
of  my  department.  The  plan  relative  thereto,  which  your 
Excellency  has  delivered  to  the  committee  which  was  at  camp, 
after  having  been  a  little  altered  by  that  committee,  was  sent 
to  Congress.  Congress  referred  it  to  the  board  of  war,  who, 
after  having  altered  it,  sent  it  back  to  Congress,  who  thought 
proper  to  refer  it  to  a  committee  of  three,  who  made  new 
alterations.  Now  it  has  been  so  much  altered,  that  it  does 
not  at  all  resemble  itself.  No  intimation  was  given  me  of  it, 
and  I  read  it  in  a  printed  copy,  which  fell  accidentally  into 
my  hands. 

*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  vol.  iii.,  p.  128. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  323 

"The  monthly  addition  of  from  five  to  eight  dollars*  to  the 
pay  of  officers  of  such  merit  as  those  whom  your  Excellency 
nas  chosen  for  the  inspectorship,  appears  to  me  so  very  mean, 
that  I  will  not  take  upon  myself  to  make  them  such  a  propo- 
sition. When  the  ancient  majors  of  brigade,  who,  in  the  first 
institution,  were  taken  from  the  line  of  lieutenants  or  ensigns, 
had  an  addition  to  their  pay  of  twenty-four  dollars  per  month, 
how  can  nine  dollars  now  be  proposed  to  a  colonel  for  dis- 
charging so  important  and  painful  a  function?  I  am  now  en- 
deavoring to  find  how  much  the  muster-master's  department 
has  cost  the  States.  I  am  sure  that  the  addition  I  ask  for  the 
officers  of  inspectorship  will  not  amount  to  an  eighth  part 
of  it. 

"  Several  resolutions,  in  this  arrangement,  are  contradictory 
to  one  another,  and  others  are  not  sufficiently  clear.  I  am, 
therefore,  determined  to  present  a  memorial  to  Congress,  in 
order  to  have  the  inspector's  department  established  on  the 
footing  proposed  by  your  Excellency,  without  any  alteration. 
If  Congress  desire  that  I  should  continue  in  this  office,  I  flat- 
ter myself  that  they  will  have  a  regard  to  my  representation." 

Steuben,  however,  did  not  confine  his  activity  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  troops ;  he  continued  to  act  on  Washington's 
staff  and  give  his  opinion  on  all  the  important  questions  re- 
specting the  army. 

Thus  we  found  among  his  papers  the  draft  of  a  planf  for 
the  daily  meeting  of  the  commander-in-chief  with  the  general 
officers,  to  keep  up  a  continual  communication  between  and 
consult  with  each  other.  "  For  this  reason,"  said  he,  "  in 
every  European  army,  every  day,  at  a  certain  fixed  hour, 
which  is  generally  between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock,  all  the 
general  and  field  officers  of  the  army,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
several  departments,  assemble  at  head-quarters,  where  the 
orders  of  the  day  are  issued  to  them  by  the  commander-in- 

*  Steuben  speaks  of  silver  money,  the  Congress  of  paper  money. 
|  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 


324  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

chief,  or,  in  case  lie  is  prevented  from  attending,  by  the  officer 
next  in  command  ;  and  if  any  general  or  chief  of  any  depart- 
ment can  not  attend  in  person,  such  general  sends  an  officer 
of  his  corps  to  represent  him.  The  English  army,  it  is  true, 
have  not  this  custom,  but  were  obliged  to  submit  to  it  in  the 
last  war,  when  commanded  by  Prince  Ferdinand."  He  then 
described  the  way  in  which  tilings  were  done  in  the  Prussian 
army,  and  showing  the  advantages  arising  from  this  practice, 
finally  proved  that  this  daily  meeting  was  the  more  necessary 
in  the  American  army,  from  the  great  distance  at  which  the 
generals  and  heads  of  departments  lived  from  each  other,  and 
their  consequent  imperfect  acquaintance.  The  commander-in- 
chief  himself  did  not  see  the  officers  so  often  as  he  should,  to 
communicate  his  sentiments  to  them,  and  to  know  their  opin- 
ions on  the  different  subjects  he  would  desire.  Steuben  there- 
fore proposed  that  an  arrangement  should  be  introduced  into 
the  army,  according  to  which  the  orders  should  be  issued 
every  day,  at  eleven  o'clock,  at  head-quarters,  at  which  the 
general  and  field  officers  of  the  day,  and  those  of  the  day  pre- 
ceding, the  adjutant  general,  quarter-master,  inspector  general, 
inspectors  and  majors  of  brigade,  and  other  general  officers, 
were  to  attend. 

To  remedy  the  many  abuses  still  existing  in  the  army,  and 
absolutely  contrary  to  the  military  constitution,  Steuben  sub- 
mitted to  Washington  sundry  regulations  for  the  better  pres- 
ervation of  order  and  discipline.  Thus  he  fixed  the  punish- 
ment of  officers  who  absented  themselves  without  leave  from 
their  regiments,  regulated  the  number  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
taken  from  their  regiments  as  servants  for  the  general  and 
other  officers,  abolished  the  standing  guards,  prohibited  that 
guards  should  be  sent  too  far  from  the  corps  to  which  they 
belonged,  and  ordered  precautions  against  the  surprise  of  ad- 
vanced  posts  by  the  enemy. 

Steuben's  services,  however,  were  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance in  the  new  formation  of  the  army. 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  325 

Congress,  as  stated  in  chapter  XIII.,  had  made  only  tem- 
porary arrangements  for  recruiting  and  drafting  the  army  for 
the  campaign  of  1*780.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  that 
year,  Washington's  and  Steuben's  apprehensions,  that  scarcely 
half  the  number  required  on  paper  would  be  in  the  held,  were 
more  than  amply  confirmed.  Congress  finally  arrived  at  the 
conviction  that  the  large  number  of  the  regiments  was  one 
of  the  principal  impediments  in  the  way  of  a  thorough  and 
definite  reform,  and  that  mere  recommendations  to  the  several 
States  to  supply  their  quotas  would  not  answer  the  purpose. 
They  therefore  concluded  a  new  arrangement,  and,  informing 
Washington  of  their  design,  asked  his  opinion  thereon,  and 
his  objections  to  the  alterations  which  had  passed  Congress  on 
the  3d  of  October,  1780,*  and  which  read  as  follows: 

"  Hesolued,  That  such  of  the  sixteen  additional  regiments 
as  have  not  been  annexed  to  the  line  of  some  particular  State, 
and  all  the  separate  light  corps  of  the  army,  both  of  horse 
and  foot,  and  also  the  German  battalion,  be  reduced  on  the 
1st  day  of  January  next ;  that  the  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates  in  those  several  corps  be  incorporated  with  the 
troops  of  their  respective  States,  and  that  such  of  them  as  do 
not  belong  to  any  particular  State,  be  annexed  to  such  corps 
as  the  commander-in-chief  shall  direct. 

"  That  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  from  and  after 
the  1st  day  of  January  next,  consist  of  four  regiments  of  cav- 
alry, or  light  dragoons  ;  four  regiments  of  artillery  ;  forty-nine 
regiments  of  infantry,  exclusive  of  Colonel  Hazen's  regiment, 
hereafter  mentioned  ;  and  one  regiment  of  artificers. 

"  That  each  regiment  of  cavalry,  or  light  dragoons,  consist 
of  six  troops,  and  that  each  troop  consist  of  sixty-four  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates,  with  the  same  number  of 
commissioned  officers  as  at  present. 

"  That  each  regiment  of  artillery  consist  of  nine  companies, 
and  that  each  company  consist  of  sixty-five  non-commissioned 
*  Resolutions  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI.,  page  20G-209. 


320  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

officers  and  matrosscs,  with  the  same  number  of  commissioned 
officers  as  at  present. 

"  That  each  regiment  of  infantry  consist  of  nine  companies, 
and  each  company  consist  of  sixty-four  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers and  privates  ;  and 

"  That  the  regiment  of  artificers  consist  of  eight  compa- 
nies, and  each  company  of  sixty  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates. 

"That  the  several  States  furnish  the  following  quotas,  viz.  : 
New  Hampshire,  two  regiments  of  infantry;  Massachusetts 
Bay,  ten  regiments  of  infantry  and  one  of  artillery ;  Rhode 
Island,  etc.,  one  regiment  of  infantry ;  Connecticut,  five  regi 
ments  of  infantry  and  one  of  cavalry;  New  York,  two  regi- 
ments of  infantry  and  one  of  artillery ;  New  Jersey,  two 
regiments  of  infantry  ;  Pennsylvania,  six  regiments  of  infantry, 
one  of  artillery,  one  of  cavalry,  and  one  of  artificers ;  Dela- 
ware, one  regiment  of  infantry ;  Maryland,  five  regiments  of 
infantry  ;  Virginia,  eight  regiments  of  infantry,  one  of  artillery, 
and  two  of  cavalry  ;  North  Carolina,  four  regiments  of  infan- 
try ;  South  Carolina,  two  regiments  of  infantry  ;  Georgia,  one 
regiment  of  infantry. 

"  That  the  States  shall  select  from  the  line  of  the  army  a 
proper  number  of  officers  to  command  the  several  regiments 
to  them  respectively  assigned,  taking  notice  that  no  new  ap- 
pointment is  to  be  made  of  a  higher  rank  than  that  of  a  lieu- 
tenant colonel  commandant. 

"  That  the  States  be,  and  they  are  hereby  called  upon,  in 
the  most  pressing  manner,  to  have  their  regiments  completed 
and  in  the  field  by  the  1st  day  of  January  next,  at  furthest. 

"That  it  be  recommended  to  the  States  to  fill  up  their  re- 
spective regiments  by  enlistments  for  and  during  the  Avar  ;  but, 
in  case  the  full  quota  of  any  of  the  States  can  not  be  com- 
pleted with  such  recruits,  by  the  1st  day  of  December  next, 
that  it  be  recommended  to  such  State  or  States  to  supply  the 
deficiency  with  men  engaged  to  serve  for  not  less  than  one 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  327 

year,  unless  sooner  relieved  by  recruits  enlisted  for  the  war, 
which  they  are  requested  to  exert  their  utmost  endeavors  to 
obtain  as  speedily  as  possible ;  and,  in  order  thereto,  it  is  fur- 
ther recommended,  that  the  officers  at  camp  be  empowered 
and  directed  to  use  every  prudent  measure  and  improve  every 
favorable  opportunity  to  enlist,  for  the  continuance  of  the  war, 
such  of  the  men  belonging  to  their  respective  States  as  are  not 
engaged  for  that  period,  whether  now  in  the  field  or  hereafter, 
from  time  to  time,  joining  the  army  ;  and  that  a  recruiting 
officer  from  each  corps  be  kept  in  the  State  to  which  the  regi- 
ments respectively  belong,  to  enlist  recruits  for  the  war,  as 
well  to  relieve  those  who  are  engaged  for  a  shorter  or  limited 
term,  as  to  supply  casual  deficiencies. 

"  That  two  dollars  be  granted  to  the  recruiting  officer  for 
every  able-bodied  soldier  he  shall  enlist  for  the  war,  who  shall 
join  the  army ;  and  that  a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  be 
allowed  as  a  bounty  to  every  such  recruit. 

"  That  the  commander-in-chief  be,  and  hereby  is,  directed 
to  cause  returns  to  be  made  as  speedily  as  possible  to  the  sev- 
eral States,  of  the  number  of  men  they  will  probably  have  in 
the  field  on  the  1st  day  of  January  next,  that  the  States  may 
take  immediate  measures  for  completing  their  respective  quo- 
tas, as  above  recommended,  by  that  time. 

"  That  the  commander-in-chief  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  di- 
rected to  make  a  return  annually  to  Congress,  on  or  before 
the  1st  day  of  September,  of  the  number  of  troops  from  each 
State,  in  order  that  Congress  may  be  enabled  to  make  their 
requisitions  from  the  several  States  with  certainty  and  in 
season. 

"  That  the  clothing  be  furnished  and  regularly  served  out 
to  the  troops  as  it  becomes  due,  and  that  a  full  compensation 
be  made  for  any  arrearages  of  clothing. 

"That  the  regiments  of  cavalry,  artillery,  and  of  artificers, 
as  they  now  stand,  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  States, 
respectively,  to  which   they  are  or  may  be  assigned,  which 


328  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

States  shall  complete  them  to  the  full  complement,  supply 
them  with  necessaries,  and  in  every  respect  treat  them  as  if 
originally  raised  therein,  and  that  such  other  States  as  now 
have  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  in  any  of  the  regi- 
ments aforesaid,  be  credited  in  their  quotas  for  such  men  ac- 
cording to  their  numbers,  from  time  to  time ;  for  which  pur- 
pose the  commander-in-chief  is  hereby  directed  to  specify 
such  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  and  the  States  to 
which  they  formerly  belonged,  in  the  returns  which  he  shall 
make  to  the  States,  and  in  his  annual  returns  to  Congress. 

"That  the  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Moses  Hazen 
be  continued  on  its  present  establishment,  and  that  all  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates,  bein^  foreigners,  belonging 
to  any  of  the  reduced  regiments  and  corps,  be  incorporated 
therewith,  and  all  volunteers  from  foreign  States,  who  are  now 
in  the  service,  or  may  hereafter  join  the  American  army,  be 
annexed  to  the  said  regiment. 

"  And  whereas,  by  the  foregoing  arrangement,  many  de- 
serving officers  must  become  supernumerary,  and  it  is  proper 
that  regard  be  had  to  them, 

"  Hesolved,  That  from  the  time  the  reform  of  the  army 
takes  place,  they  be  entitled  to  half  pay  for  seven  years,  in 
specie  or  other  current  money  equivalent,  and  also  grants  of 
land  at  the  close  of  the  war,  agreeably  to  the  resolution  of  the 
16th  of  September,  1776. 

"  Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  arrangement  of 
the  army  be  sent  to  the  commander-in-chief,  for  his  opinion 
thereon,  and  that  if  there  shall  appear  no  material  objection, 
the  same  be  carried  into  immediate  effect." 

Washington  gave  his  remarks  at  length,  in  his  letter  of 
the  nth  of  October,  1780,*  which  often  literally  adopted 
Steuben's  views  and  proposals,  and  effected  a  change  in  the 
arrangements  of  Congress,  as  will  appear  from  the  resolutions 
of  the  21st  of  October.  On  this  day  Congress  resumed  the 
*  Washington's  Writings,  vii.,  245. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  329 

consideration  of  the  report  of  the  committee  on  Washington's 
letter,  and  thereupon 

"  Resolved,  That  the  several  regiments  of  infantry,  re- 
quested from  the  respective  States  by  a  resolution  of  the  3d 
instant,  be  augmented,  and  consist  of  one  colonel,  one  lieu- 
tenant colonel,  and  one  major,  where  the  full  colonels  are  con- 
tinued ;  or  one  lieutenant  colonel  commandant  and  two  majors, 
where  full  colonels  are  not  continued ;  nine  captains,  twenty- 
two  subalterns,  one  surgeon,  one  surgeon's  mate,  one  sergeant- 
major,  one  quarter-master  sergeant,  forty-five  sergeants,  one 
drum-major,  one  fife-major,  ten  drums,  ten  fifes,  and  six  hun- 
dred and  twelve  rank  and  file. 

"  That  there  be  one  captain  and  two  subalterns  to  each 
company,  and  that  the  four  supernumerary  subalterns  shall 
each  have  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  one  of  whom  is  to  reside  in 
the  State  to  which  he  belongs,  to  enlist  and  forward  on  re- 
cruits ;  one  drum  and  fife  from  each  regiment  to  attend  the 
recruiting  officer;  the  other  three  supernumerary  officers  to  do 
the  duty  of  pay -master,  quarter-master,  and  adjutant  in  their 
respective  regiments. 

"  That  the  regiments  of  artillery  be  augmented  to  ten  com- 
panies each. 

"  That,  instead  of  four  regiments  of  cavalry,  there  be  four 
legionary  corps,  consisting  of  four  troops  of  mounted  dragoons 
and  two  of  dismounted  dragoons,  each  consisting  of  sixty  pri- 
vates, with  the  same  number  of  commissioned  and  non-com- 
missioned officers  to  each  troop  as  at  present. 

"That  there  be  two  partisan  corps,  consisting  of  three 
troops  of  mounted  and  three  of  dismounted  dragoons,  of  fifty 
each,  one  of  which  corps  to  be  commanded  by  Colonel  Ar- 
mand  and  the  other  by  Major  Lee,  and  officered  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  commander-in-chief,  with  the  approbation  of 
Congress ;  and  that  the  commander-in-chief  be  authorized  to 
direct  a  mode  for  completing,  recruiting,  and  supplying  the 
said  corps. 


880  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

"That  the  whole  of  the  troops  be  enlisted  during  the  war, 
and  join  their  respective  corps  by  the  1st  day  of  January 
next. 

"  That  the  commander-in-chief  and  commanding  officer  in 
the  southern  department,  direct  the  officers  of  each  State  to 
meet  and  agree  upon  the  officers  for  the  regiments  to  be  raised 
by  their  respective  States,  from  those  who  incline  to  continue 
in  service;  and  where  it  can  not  be  done  by  agreement,  to  be 
determined  by  seniority,  and  make  return  of  those  who  are  to 
remain,  which  is  to  be  transmitted  to  Congress,  together  with 
the  names  of  the  officers  reduced,  who  are  to  be  allowed  half 
pay  for  life. 

"  That  the  officers  who  shall  continue  in  the  service  to  the 
end  of  the  war  shall  also  be  entitled  to  half  pay  during  life,  to 
commence  from  the  time  of  their  reduction." 

Steuben  was  instrumental  in  these  happy  amendments. 
Washington  was  one  of  those  sagacious  men  who  understood 
perfectly  well  how  to  make  the  most  ample  use  of  the  talent 
of  his  subordinate  officers  for  the  common  cause.  He  exam- 
ined carefully,  judged  calmly,  and  put  all  his  officers  in  the 
right  place.  Hence  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  his  staff  was  an 
excellent  one— better  than  even  that  of  the  King  of  Prussia 
after  the  Seven  Years'  War— and  for  this  combination  of  mil- 
itary talent  he  won  the  admiration  of  competent  judges,  as, 
for  instance,  that  of  Frederick  the  Great.  The  achievements 
of  the  army  were  much  below  the  common  standard  of  war- 
fare, but  the  conceptions,  ideas,  and  plans  of  his  staff,  and  their 
execution,  were  inferior  to  none  of  any  army.  We,  therefore, 
instead  of  detracting  from,  add  only  a  new  luster  to  the  w^ell- 
deserved  glory  of  the  American  commander,  by  stating  the 
part  which  Steuben  had  in  the  re-formation  of  the  army.  At 
this  time  he  wrote  to  Washington  :* 

"  I  feel  that  I  am  troubling  your  Excellency  with  repre- 
sentations, which  I  need  not,  were  I  not  actuated  by  zeal  for 
*  Stoubcn  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  331 

our  service,  the  comfort  of  our  army,  and  that  of  their  es- 
teemed commander-in-chief.  I  was  mortified,  during  the  last 
campaign,  to  witness  the  difficulties  which  you  had  to  encounter 
daily,  and  the  obstacles  which  you  alone  were  capable  of  sur- 
mounting. They  certainly  add  to  your  glory  in  the  eyes  of 
every  soldier  in  the  world. 

"  I  examined  the  causes  of  these  difficulties,  and  I  soon 
found  that  they  were  the  radical  defects  in  the  constitution  of 
the  army.  Respect  for  the  framers  of  that  constitution  would 
cause  me  to  refrain  from  allusion  to  the  subject  were  I  not 
convinced  that  it  is  diametrically  opposed  to  that  order  and 
organization  which  are  recognized  as  absolutely  necessary  in 
every  army  in  the  universe.  It  is  in  vain  to  assure  me  that 
the  American  arms  have  won  glory  and  distinction  without 
that  order  and  regular  formation  which  are  supposed  to  be  so 
essential.  I  admit  that  our  brave  troops  have  achieved  ex- 
ploits so  brilliant  that  posterity  will  scarce  credit  them.  I 
am  positive  that  the  same  spirit  still  animates  our  officers  and 
soldiers,  and  that  they  would  still  fight  with  the  same  heroic 
energy  that  they  have  hitherto  displayed.  But  I  maintain  also 
that  order  and  a  regular  military  formation  wTould  not  only 
much  facilitate  military  operations,  but  spare  the  lives  of  many 
brave  soldiers,  and  largely  diminish  the  now  enormous  ex- 
penses of  the  State,  which  are  caused  by  the  present  disorder. 
To  seek  to  prove  by  any  chain  of  argument  the  truth  of  my 
opinions  in  this  regard,  would  be  to  doubt  the  penetration  of 
so  experienced  and  enlightened  a  general  as  your  Excellency. 
Besides,  what  I  have  just  said  is  only  a  recapitulation  of  what 
you  have  frequently  remarked  yourself. 

"  Concerning  the  remedial  measures,  of  the  necessity  for 
which  your  Excellency  is  quite  as  much  convinced  as  I  am,  the 
following,  I  believe,  are  the  most  important  considerations  : 
to  amend,  without  destroying,  the  constitution  already  estab- 
lished, and  so  satisfactory  to  a  part  of  our  officers,  notwith- 
standing its  many  defects  ;  to  amend  it  so  as  not  to  wound 


332 


LIFE     OF     STEU  P>  E  X  . 


the  ambition  and  laudable  sensibility  of  our  brave  officers, 
who  have  won  rank  and  dignity  at  the  expense  of  their  blood 
and  fortune.  Nothing  is  more  distasteful  to  a  brave  soldier 
than,  after  having  served  his  country  with  zeal  and  devotion, 
to  see  the  army  re-formed  with  which  he  won  distinction. 
But  it  appears  to  me  utterly  impossible  to  keep  all  the  regi- 
ments which  we  have  nominally  on  foot.  In  the  plans  Which 
I  have  presented  to  your  Excellency,  I  have  pointed  out,  per- 
haps, the  only  means  of  maintaining  the  old  constitution  in 
the  formation  of  battalions  as  feeble,  as  I  have  proposed.  But 
if  we  can  not  keep  the  strength  of  our  regiments  formed  in 
battalions  to  eighty  files,  and  if  the  battalions  below  that 
number  can  not  be  incorporated  with  others  in  the  same  po- 
sition, then  I  own  that  I  am  incapable  of  finding  a  better  way 
to  establish  a  permanent  formation.  The  mode  of  dividing 
brigades  into  battalions,  which  was  tried  during  the  last  cam- 
paign, caused  immediate  discontent  among  the  colonels.  Be- 
sides this,  that  formation  was  only  used  on  field  days,  and  on 
the  march,  when  it  was  so  altered  from  day  to  day  that  one 
day  the  brigade  marched  in  four  battalions,  another  in  three. 

"  On  entering  camp  the  formation  of  battalions  ceased  alto- 
gether, and  each  regiment  camped  by  itself.  At  the  affair  at 
Monmouth,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  saw  that  each  colonel  led 
on  his  own  regiment,  no  matter  how  strong  or  weak  it  was. 
The  general  of  the  division  can  never  judge  whether  the  regi- 
ments or  battalions  are  complete,  or  whether  the  half  of  them 
is  wanting.  In  camping,  also,  the  quarter-master  general  can 
never  calculate  the  necessary  space  for  so  many  regiments  if 
their  force  is  not  equal.  The  adjutant  general  experiences  the 
same,  if  not  greater,  difficulties  for  the  details  of  the  service. 
The  distribution  of  all  necessaries,  the  discipline,  service  of 
guards — in  short,  every  thing  connected  with  the  service  goes 
wrong  from  this  disproportion  in  the  strength  of  the  different 
corps.  I  consider  it,  therefore,  quite  impossible  to  establish 
order  and  uniformity  in  anyone  branch,  if  uniformity  of  form- 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  333 

ation  be  not  adopted.  I  am  as  much  opposed  as  any  one  to 
the  introduction  of  novelties.  I  feel  the  difficulties,  and  I  dis- 
play in  all  my  operations  my  desire  to  maintain  all  that  is  not 
absolutely  injurious  in  the  present  constitution.  But  uniform 
ity  is  impossible,  without  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  formation 
of  the  corps.  Every  system  is  a  mere  chimera  without  the 
permanent  establishment  of  a  uniform  formation." 

It  appears  that  in  consequence  of  this  letter,  and  the  pre- 
vious correspondence  of  the  last  winter,  Washington  asked 
Steuben's  opinion  about  the  new  formation  of  the  army,  which 
he  gave  in  the  following  memorial  :* 

"  Last  winter  Congress  were  about  determining  on  a  new 
arrangement  of  the  army.  The  motives  then  prevailing  being 
the  weakness  of  the  regiments,  it  was  proposed  to  dimin- 
ish their  number,  and  thereby  give  more  respectable  com- 
mands to  those  officers  who  might  remain.  It  was  also  pro- 
posed to  make  some  provision  for  those  officers  who,  by  this 
reduction,  would  be  thrown  out  of  the  line.  All  this  was  in 
operation,  but  put  off  from  time  to  time  till  the  campaign  was 
near  opening,  when  it  was  thought  too  late,  and  the  number 
of  regiments,  therefore,  remained  the  same,  except  Sherborn's 
additional  regiment,  which  was  incorporated  into  the  others. 

"  The  regiments,  very  far  from  being  complete  in  men, 
were  as  little  so  in  officers.  Those  of  the  ISTew  England  line 
especially  were  so  destitute  that  it  was  with  difficulty  the  ser- 
vice could  go  on.  Two  thirds  of  the  companies  were  com- 
manded by  subalterns,  many  by  sergeants,  and  some  even  by 
corporals,  and  many  regiments  were  without  any  field  officers, 
the  result  of  which  was  a  continual  disorder  and  loss  in  the 
army,  and  every  species  of  camp  equipage.  The  greatest 
necessity  obliged  some  officers  to  go  on  furlough  during  the 
winter.  Those  who  remained  suffered  the  greatest  misery, 
and  were  obliged  to  do  severe  duty  by  absence  of  others  and 
the  great  number  of  vacancies  in  every  regiment.  As  fast  as 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 


3o4  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

the  regiments  were  recruited,  the  officers  joined  their  colors, 
and  stimulated  by  a  true  love  of  their  country,  redoubled  their 
zeal  in  forming  the  recruits;  and  I  must  do  them  the  justice  to 
say,  that  their  success  in  perfecting  themselves  in  so  short  a 
time,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  campaign,  exceeded  my  greatest 
hopes.  I  appeal  to  the  commander-in-chief  and  all  the  general 
officers,  that  our  army  was  never  in  such  perfection  of  disci- 
pline and  order  as  in  the  present  moment.  With  what  pains 
then  must  those  officers  see  the  moment  approach  when  all 
that  labor  and  pains  shall  be  lost  in  the  dismissal  of  the  great- 
est part  of  the  soldiers  who  have  cost  them  so  much  trouble. 

"  This  moment  will,  however,  inevitably  arrive,  and  all  we 
can  do  is  to  prepare  for  the  creation  of  a  new  army  for  the 
next  campaign.  The  manner  to  procure  men  is,  I  believe,  the 
principal  object  that  at  present  occupies  Congress.  It  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  wished  that  some  means  might  also  be  thought  of 
to  keep  together  our  brave  officers.  The  great  sacrifices  they 
have  already  made  for  their  country,  with  the  many  disgusting 
circumstances  they  meet  with  in  the  service,  threaten  us  with 
dangerous  consequences,  besides  the  great  number  of  vacan- 
cies already  in  the  regiments.  It  is  with  pain  I  see  every  day 
officers  who  have  served  with  reputation  from  the  beirinnimr 
of  the  war,  resign  their  commission  for  no  other  motive  but 
that  they  can  no  longer  support  the  misery  to  which  they  are 
reduced,  without  any  prospect  of  a  remedy. 

"The  last  year  the  want  of  men  induced  Congress  to  think 
of  reducing  the  number  of  regiments.  This  year  the  want  of 
officers  will  be  another  motive  for  an  incorporation  for  next 
campaign. 

"Congress  proportioned  the  forces  to  be  raised  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  United  States  in  the  following  manner  : 

Now  ITampshiro,  3.  South  Carolina,    G.  Now  Jersey,    4. 

Delaware,  1.  North  Carolina,    9.  Maryland,        8. 

Virginia,  1 5.  Pennsylvania,     1 2.  New  York,      4. 

Connecticut,  8.  Massachusetts,    15.  Rhode  Island,  2. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  335 

or  eighty-seven  regiments  altogether.  To  this  was  added  Ha- 
zen's  regiment,  raised  in  Canada,  and  sixteen  additional  regi- 
ments, the  greatest  part  of  which  no  longer  exist,  the  remains 
of  four  being  all  that  is  left,  viz.,  Jackson's,  Webb's,  Living- 
ston's, and  Spencer's.  The  State  of  Massachusetts  have  adopted 
Jackson's,  Connecticut  Webb's,  and  Jersey  Spencer's.  Liv- 
ingston's is,  therefore,  the  last  of  the  sixteen  additional  regi- 
ments remaining.  The  extreme  weakness  of  this  regiment, 
and  its  consisting  in  great  part  of  Canadians,  are  motives  which 
would  induce  its  being  incorporated  with  Hazen's.  Money 
then  being  given  to  Colonel  Hazen,  with  permission  to  com- 
plete his  regiment  to  the  established  strength,  the  army  would 
consist  of  eighty  eight  battalions  of  infantry.  Should  it  be 
thought  necessary  to  reduce  the  number  to  one  half,  the  pro- 
portion will  then  stand  thus  : 

New  Hampshire,  1.  North  Carolina,  4.  Canada,  with  Livingston,  1. 

Pennsylvania,        6.  South  Carolina,  3.  Massachusetts,  8. 

Delaware,  1.  Connecticut,  4.  New  York,  2. 

Maryland,  4.  New  Jersey,  2.  Virginia,  *7. 

or  forty-four  regiments  altogether. 

"  The  disproportion  in  these  quotas  can  easily  be  settlod 
between  the  States  by  money  or  recruits. 

"  Each  regiment  to  consist  of 
1  Colonel  Commandant,  9  Captains, 

1  Colonel  Second,  0  Lieutenants, 

1  Lieutenant  Colonel,  0  Ensigns, 

1  Mnjor,  2  Sergeant-Majors, 

1  Quarter-master,       ]  These  officers  to  have  their       1  Quarter-master  serg't. 

1  Pay-master,  rank  and  promotion  in  the  45  Sergeants, 

2  Adjutants,  regiment,   but  not  to  be       1  Drum-Major, 
1  Recruiting  officer,  j      attached  to  any  company.       1  Fife-Major, 

1  Surgeon,  10  Drummers, 

1  Mate,  10  Fifers,  and 

612  Rank  and  File. 

Each  regiment  divided  into  nine  companies,  each  to  consist  of 
one  captain,  one  lieutenant,  one  ensign,  one  drummer,  one 
fifer,  sixty  rank  and  file,  eight  supernumeraries  without  arms. 
Of  these  eight  supernumeraries,  all  extra  service  men,  such  as 


336  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

wagoners,  etc,  are  to  be  taken.     Each  regiment  to  be  formed 

into  two  battalions — each  battalion  to  consist  of 

2  Field  Officers,  20  Sergeants, 

1  Adjutant,  5  Drummers, 

4  Captains,  5  Fifers, 

4  Lieutenants,  240  Rank  and  File,  and 

4  Ensigns,  32  Supernumeraries, 

and  the  light  company,  four  of  which  form  a  battalion  during 
the  campaign. 

"  Should  such  an  arrangement  be  determined  on  by  Con- 
gress, it  should  be  carried  into  execution  as  soon  as  possible. 
The  regiments  should  be  absolutely  completed  by  the  1st  of 
March. 

"As  a  regiment  is  during  a  campaign  continually  decreasing, 
and  as  it  is  difficult  at  the  end  of  the  campaign  to  raise  so  many 
recruits  as  are  necessary  to  complete  the  vacancies* I  propose, 
that  besides  the  regiment  being  complete  at  the  opening  of  the 
campaign,  a  recruiting  officer  of  each  regiment,  with  two  ser- 
geants, shall  be  continually  recruiting,  in  order,  if  possible,  to 
complete  the  vacancies  that  may  arise.  This  officer  is  to  re- 
cruit under  the  direction  of  the  State,  whence  he  is  to  be  sup- 
plied with  the  necessary  sums  for  that  purpose.  Those  States 
which  furnish  more  than  two  regiments  are  to  choose  a  field 
officer  to  have  the  direction  of  all  the  recruiting  officers  in  the 
State,  and  he  to  be  accountable  to  the  State.  This  officer  is  to 
reside  always  at  the  capital,  and  to  act  at  the  same  time  as  the 
agent  for  the  troops  of  the  State.  He  has  to  represent  to  the 
Legislature  the  vacancies  in  officers  and  men,  and  every  other 
thing  respecting  the  troops  of  the  State.  Those  States  which 
furnish  only  two  regiments,  to  appoint  a  captain  for  the  same 
purpose. 

"  The  infantry  being  put  on  this  footing,  the  next  thing  is 
to  complete  the  other  corps  in  the  army,  as  the  artillery,  arti- 
ficers, cavalry,  independent  corps,  etc.,  in  proportion. 

"  In  the  above  plan  it  appears  that  the  forty-four  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  exclusive  of  commissioned  officers,  amount 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  337 

to  twenty-six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty  men,  and  the 
eight  supernumeraries  for  each  company  for  dragoons,  servants, 
etc.,  to  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  men — in  all 
thirty  thousand  and  eight.  The  resolve  of  Congress  of  the 
9th  of  February,  1780,  fixes  the  total  to  be  raised  at  thirty- 
five  thousand  two  hundred  and  eleven,  making  a  difference  of 
five  thousand  two  hundred  and  three,  which  is  sufficient  to 
complete  the  under-mentioned  corps.  It  will  first  be  necessary 
to  fix  on  the  number  of  which  each  corps  shall  consist,  and 
then  portion  it  to  each  State. 

"  The  cavalry  is  to  be  reduced  to  four  regiments,  besides 
Lee's  legion,  Armand's  legion,  and  the  corps  of  marechaussee. 
Each  regiment  of  cavalry  to  consist  of  two  hundred  dragoons, 
mounted,  divided  into  five  troops  of  forty  each,  exclusive  of 
officers,  and  three  companies  of  infantry  of  fifty  each,  armed 
with  rifles  or  fusils,  to  guard  the  cavalry  in  their  quarters.  Ar- 
mand's legion  to  consist  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dragoons  in 
three  troops,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  infantry  in  three  com- 
panies. Lee's  legion  the  same.  The  marechaussees  to  remain 
on  their  first  establishment  of  fifty  horses  in  one  troop.  The 
whole  cavalry  will  then  consist  (including  their  infantry),  of 
eleven  hundred  and  fifty  horse  and  two  thousand  and  fifty 
men.  It  might  be  determined  for  New  England  to  complete 
the  two  regiments  with  the  northern  army ;  Virginia  to  com- 
plete Lee's  corps,  and  the  other  States  to  complete  the  two 
regiments  to  the  southward  ;  Armand's  legion  and  the  mare- 
chausee,  composed  of  strangers,  to  be  recruited  at  the  expense 
of  the  Continent. 

"  To  complete  the  whole  infantry,  cavalry,  and  the  trains 
of  the  army,  will  amount  to  thirty-two  thousand  and  fifty-eight 
men,  which  leaves  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
to  complete  the  artillery,  artificers,  sappers  and  miners. 

"I  am  of  opinion  that  a  diminution  of  the  number  of  regi- 
ments, on  some  just  plan,  will  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  service, 
and  agreeable  to  the  officers ;  the  command  of  a  regiment  will 

15 


338 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 


be  as  respectable  for  a  colonel  as  that  of  a  company  for  a  cap- 
tain. The  regiments  will  never  be  destitute  of  officers,  and 
the  number  of  officers  is  proportioned  to  the  number  of  men. 
The  officers  will  not  be  put  to  the  pain  of  being  reduced, 
which  would  give  cause  to  many  complaints,  and,  I  dare  say, 
all  would  stay  honorably  employed,  and  have  it  more  in  theii 
power  to  render  service  to  their  country." 


RE  CA  PITUL ATI  ON  . 

44  regiments  infantry,  each  of  682  men,  inclusive  of  commissioned 

officers,  ...  . 

Deduct  supernumeraries, 

Leaves  number  of  fighting  men, 
4  regiments  cavalry,  each  200  men, 
4  regiments  infantry,  each  150  men, 
Armand's  legion, 
Lee's  " 

Marechaussees, 


Total  infantry, 
Total  cavalry, 

Total  men, 


30,008 
3,168 


.  26,840 

800 

600 

150 

150 

150 

150 

50 

— 

1,150 

900 

900 

.   27,740 

• 

• 

1,150 

28,890 


Washington,  in  his  letter  of  the  11th  of  October,  1780, 
often  literally  adopts  Steuben's  views  and  proposals  ;  and  that 
they  had  the  desired  effect  will  be  apparent  from  a  compari- 
son of  his  memorial  with  the  last  resolve  of  Congress.  On  the 
23d  of  October,  1780,  Steuben,  then  on  his  way  to  the  South, 
wrote  as  follows  to  the  commander-in-chief:* 

u  It  is  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  I  acquaint  you  that 
the  plan  of  arrangements  for  the  army,  which  your  Excellency 
sent  to  Congress,  has  been  agreed  upon  yesterday,  without 
any  alteration.  The  granting  the  half  pay  for  life,  to  the  re- 
duced officers,  has  met  with  some  opposition,  but  the  propo- 


*  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution,  ill-,  126,  127 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  339 

sition  has  not  only  passed,  but  it  was  moved  and  resolved, 
immediately  after,  to  extend  these  advantages  to  all  the  offi- 
cers in  the  service. 

"In  the  minutes  which  Colonel  Hamilton  has  delivered 
me,  by  your  Excellency's  order,  I  find  that  the  four  regiments 
of  cavalry,  or  rather  legions,  were  thus  fixed  : 

Four  troops  of  mounted  dragoons,  sixty  men  each,  ....  240 
Four  companies  dismounted,  or  chasseurs,  sixty  men  each,  .         .         .     240 

Total, 480 

"  General  Sullivan  and  Colonel  Bland  have  told  me  that 
this  is  altered  in  your  Excellency's  letter,  and  that  there  are 
to  be 

Four  troops  of  mounted  dragoons,  sixty  men  each,  ....  240 
Two  companies  of  chasseurs,  sixty  men  each, 120 

Total, 360 

"Your  Excellency  will  allow  me  to  make  here  a  short 
observation  on  the  subdivision  of  this  cavalry,  without  alter- 
ing the  totality  of  the  foot  or  horsemen.  Cavalry,  especially 
when  two  deep,  are  not  very  terrible  in  their  attacks  in  front, 
and  least  so  when  against  infantry.  The  attacks  of  the  cav- 
alry, when  they  intend  to  overthrow  or  break  a  line,  are  gen- 
erally made  by  troops  or  squadrons,  or  in  column,  or  en  echi- 
quier  (checker- wise).  The  deeper  they  are  the  surer  they  are 
to  break  through.  If  then,  instead  of  four,  a  regiment  was 
divided  into  six  troops,  the  object  would  be  better  answered. 

"There  is  another  reason  which  has  determined  the  King 
of  Prussia  to  divide  his  light  horse,  or  hussars,  into  six  com- 
panies, forming  three  squadrons.  The  cavalry,  after  an  at- 
tack, are  generally  in  disorder ;  they  must  then  be  rallied  by 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  When  they  are  divided  into  thren 
squadrons,  the  right,  left,  and  center  only  indicate  how  the 
men  are  to  rally,  which  is  not  so  easy  when  they  are  divided 


340  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

into  four  troops.  When  three  squadrons  are  in  order  of  bat- 
tle, the  signals,  whether  the  right,  left,  or  center  squadron  is 
to  charge,  still  meet  with  difficulty  when  the  cavalry  is  divided 
into  four  squadrons  or  troops ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why,  in 
several  European  services,  an  odd  number  has  been  adopted 
for  the  maneuvers  of  the  light  horse. 

"  Besides,  our  regiments  of  cavalry  will  have,  I  believe,  as 
those  of  infantry,  three  field  officers.  Each  of  them  will  then 
command  a  squadron,  which  will  consist  of  two  companies. 
Wherefore  I  propose  that  each  regiment  of  cavalry  may  be  di- 
vided into  three  squadrons,  each  squadron  into  two  compa- 
nies, each  of  which  shall  consist  of  forty  men,  which  will  make 
eighty  men  for  a  squadron.  The  companies  of  chasseurs  ought 
to  be  likewise  three  in  number,  each  company  to  consist  of 
fifty  men,  rank  and  file,  attached,  on  all  occasions,  to  the  first, 
second,  and  third  squadron  of  a  regiment.  And,  as  it  often 
happens  that  the  squadrons  are  separated  from  one  another, 
each  company  of  chasseurs  ought  to  be  always  attached  to  its 
squadron,  as  well  to  support  it  in  its  maneuvers  as  to  guard  it 
in  its  quarters.  As  by  this  subdivision  the  totality  will  not 
suffer  a  great  alteration,  I  believe  it  will  not  alter  the  general 
plan.  I  will,  therefore,  mention  it  to  no  one  besides  your  Ex- 
cellency, and  I  think  it  is  in  your  power  to  order  this  sub- 
division, if  you  think  proper." 

When  Steuben  wrote  this  letter  he  was  already  on  his  way 
to  the  South.  A  more  urgent  necessity  had  determined  the 
gen eral-im chief  to  take  the  inspeotor  general  from  the  field  of 
action  which  was  particularly  suited  to  his  tastes  and  abilities. 
It  was  unfortunate  for  the  army  that  it  was  left  by  Steuben  at 
a  period  when  his  system  just  commenced  to  take  root,  and 
when  his  presence  was  more  than  ever  required,  on  account 
of  the  re  formation  of  the  troops.  However  honorable  this 
change  might  have  been  for  Steuben,  it  was  pernicious  in  its 
effects  on  the  army,  as  the  edifice,  scarcely  erected  by  him, 
was  threatened  with  overthrow,  in  consequence  of  his  absence. 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  341 

More  than  a  year  passed  away  before  Steuben  could  resume 
his  activity  in  this   sphere,  and  devote  his  attention  to  the 
inspection  and  re-formation  of  the  army.     During  this  time 
nothing,  of  course,  was  done  in  his  department. 
Let  us  follow  him  to  the  South. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


War  in  the  South  from  1778  till  1780.— Capture  of  Savannah.— Clinton  proceeds 
to  the  South. — Capture  of  Charleston. — Gates  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Southern  Army. — His  Defeat  at  Camden. — Greene  his  Successor. — Greene's 
Antecedents. — His  Friendship  with  Steuben. — Steuben  appointed  to  the 
Command  in  Virginia. — Washington's  flattering  Letter  to  Steuben. — Con- 
gress ratifies  Greene's  and  Steuben's  Appointments.— Steuben  goes  from 
Philadelphia  to  Richmond. — Visit  to  Mount  Vernon. — Greene's  Instructions 
to  Steuben. — Steuben's  Task  very  difficult. — Conflicts  with  the  State  Gov- 
ernment unavoidable. — Condition  of  Virginia. — Steuben's  Relations  to  Jef- 
ferson.—The  State  of  Things  there  similar  to  that  of  the  Army  at  Valley 
Forge. — Steuben's  Requisitions  on  the  State  not  complied  with. — Lawson's 
Corps  ordered  to  join  Greene's  Army. — It  refuses  to  March. — Correspondence 
between  Greene  and  Steuben  about  the  Subject. — Squandering  of  the  rich 
Resources  of  the  State. — General  Disorder. — Steuben's  Letter  to  Wash- 
ington.— Colonel  Green  is  detached  to  the  South. — His  Officers  at  first 
refuse  to  March. — Muhlenberg  brings  them  back  to  their  Duty. — Muhlen- 
berg's Character  and  Life. — The  State  Government  orders  new  Levies,  bt:t 
the  Recruits  do  not  come. — Rendezvous  at  Chesterfield  Court-House  itnder 
Colonel  Davies. — Steuben's  Description  of  his  Situation. — His  Measures 
against  Desertion. — His  Precautions  at  the  assembling  of  the  Recruits. — 
Bad  Situation  of  the  Troops  at  Chesterfield. — Want  of  Discipline. — Insub- 
ordination.— Theft  and  Robbery  not  Uncommon. — Letters  of  Davies,  Gib- 
son, and  Lee. — The  Governor's  Orders  for  Blankets  and  Clothing  for  Five 
Hundred  Men. — Steuben  indisposed. — Greene  wants  him  to  join  his  Army. — 
Impediments  thrown  in  his  Way. — Arnold's  Invasion. 

TpO  the  state  of  inactivity  in  which,  during  the  years  1779 
J-  and  1780,  the  two  armies  in  the  North  remained  watching 
each  other,  the  theater  of  war  in  the  South  formed  a  striking 
contrast.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1778,  an  expedition 
was  sent  into  Georgia  by  Clinton,  Savannah  taken,  and  part  of 
his  troops  left  by  him  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  The  oc- 
cupation of  these  States  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
English,  inasmuch  as  the  richness  of  the  country  put  them  in 
possession  of  plenty  of  victuals  and  of  various  stores,  while 
they  were  able,  not  only  to  deprive  the  Americans  of  a  part 
of  their  necessary  supplies,  but  also  to  prevent  them  from  in- 
vading Florida. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  343 

The  hot  season  of  the  year  very  soon  put  an  end  to  the 
plundering  expeditions  into  the  interior,  carried  on  by  the 
English.  At  the  beginning  of  the  winter  l779-'80,  however, 
Clinton  himself  left  for  the  South,  and  besieged,  in  the  com- 
mencement of  1780,  Charleston,  which  was  forced  to  surrender 
in  May.  This  success,  on  the  part  of  the  English,  secured  to 
them,  forthwith,  the  possession  of  the  whole  State  of  South 
Carolina.  Cornwallis,  to  whom  Clinton  had  left  the  com- 
mand, soon  after  the  capture  of  Charleston  invaded  the  inte- 
rior without  finding  any  obstacle,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
prevent  him  from  advancing  as  far  as  Virginia,  if  Congress 
did  not  dispatch  at  once  a  new  army  and  a  new  and  qualified 
general  for  the  submission  and  relief  of  the  southern  States. 

In  this  critical  state  of  things  nearly  all  eyes  in  Congress 
were  bent  upon  General  Gates.  Although  the  splendid  suc- 
cess achieved  by  him  at  Saratoga  was  due  rather  to  General 
Philip  Schuyler,  his  predecessor  in  the  command,  it  was,  as  it 
always  happens  in  similar  cases,  exclusively  credited  to  Gates, 
and  as  nothing  since  had  disturbed  his  fame  so  easily  acquired, 
he  was  esteemed  by  all  equal  to  Washington  as  an  officer,  and 
by  some  ranked  above  him.  Without,  therefore,  asking  the 
opinion  of  the  general-in-chief,  Gates  was  at  once  made  com- 
manding general  of  the  southern  army.  The  hope  of  reaping 
new  laurels,  accelerated  his  journey,  and  having  arrived  at 
the  place  of  his  destination,  he  thought  himself  so  sure  of 
success  that  he  did  not  heed  the  good  advice  of  officers  as  tried 
as  General  De  Kalb.  Venturing  to  attack  an  enemy  so  greatly 
superior  both  in  numbers  and  in  the  talent  of  their  leader,  he 
staked  the  issue  of  the  whole  campaign  upon  a  single  battle. 
The  result  was,  that  on  the  16th  day  of  August,  1780,  he  was 
totally  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Camden.  The  gallant  De 
Kalb  received  a  mortal  wound,  the  regular  army  was  anni- 
hilated, and  the  militia,  especially  the  Virginians,  totally  and 
ignominiously  dispersed,  and  in  consequence  of  this  defeat  the 
whole  South  was  exposed  to  the  operations  of  Lord  Corn- 


344  1,1  9  K     O  K     8  T  B  0  KEN. 

wallis.  At  this  critical  period  all  depended  upon  Gates's 
successor.  Congress,  distrusting  their  own  judgment,  gave 
Washington  the  power  to  appoint  him,  and  Washington 
selected  for  the  command  Nathaniel  Greene,  one  of  the  ablest, 
most  patriotic  and  energetic  generals  of  the  Revolution.  He 
justified  the  choice  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  won  for 
himself  immortal  laurels  on  the  field  which  was  thus  offered  as 
a  scope  for  his  talents  and  enterprise. 

The  reputation  of  Greene  was  at  this  time  already  es- 
tablished. As  the  officer  in  whom  Washington  placed  the 
greatest  confidence,  he  had  shared  with  him  the  honors  and 
exploits  of  all  the  campaigns.  Being  the  son  of  an  humble 
miller  and  blacksmith  in  Rhode  Island,  who  at  the  same  time 
was  a  Quaker  preacher,  it  is  not  strange  that  his  school  edu- 
cation was  very  limited.  What  Greene  afterwards  became  he 
owed  solely  to  himself.  After  having  worked  all  day  at  the 
plow  or  at  the  anvil,  we  find  him  spending  the  night  in  study. 
In  his  thirst  after  knowledge  nothing  was  beyond  his  reach. 
History  and  mathematics  he  fancied  above  all;  Ca3sar  and 
Plutarch  were  his  favorite  authors.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
difficulties  with  England,  the  young  and  enthusiastic  Greene 
sided,  of  course,  with  the  colonies.  He  had  already  acquired 
considerable  personal  importance  at  home,  and  in  the  year 
1770  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Rhode 
Island.  When  war  became  inevitable  he  passed  the  whole 
of  the  time  in  the  study  of  the  military  art.  Soon  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington  the  militia  of  Rhode  Island  met,  and 
Greene,  in  the  capacity  of  brigadier  general  of  that  colony, 
conducted  sixteen  hundred  men  to  the  camp  near  Boston.  A 
few  months  later  he  was  honored  by  a  commission  of  equal 
rank  in  the  Continental  army. 

Washington  in  his  instructions  informing  Greene  of  his 
appointment  to  the  command  of  the  southern  army,  remarks:* 

u  I  also  propose  to  send  Baron  Steuben  to  the  southward 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vii.,  212. 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  345 

with  you.  His  talents,  knowledge  of  service,  zeal  and  activity, 
will  make  him  very  useful  to  you  in  all  respects,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  formation  and  regulation  of  the  raw  troops,  who 
will  principally  compose  the  southern  army.  You  will  give 
him  a  command  suited  to  his  rank,  besides  employing  him  as 
inspector  general.  If  Congress  approve  it  he  will  take  your 
orders  at  Philadelphia." 

In  a  letter  dated  Preakness,  October  22,  1780,*  Washing- 
ton acquaints  Steuben,  in  the  most  flattering  way,  of  his 
appointment.  "  Though  I  am  sensible,"  says  he,  "  how  im- 
portant your  services  would  be  in  this  quarter,  yet,  as  at  the 
southward  there  is  an  army  to  be  created,  the  mass  of  which 
is  without  any  formation  at  all,  your  services  there  would  be 
still  more  essential;  and  as  I  am  persuaded  that  your  in- 
clination is  to  be  wherever  you  can  be  most  useful,  I  have 
recommended  it  to  Congress  to  send  you  with  General  Greene 
to  the  southern  army.  If  Congress  approve,  you  will  take 
his  orders  and  proceed  as  speedily  as  possible.  I  wish  you 
may  have  been  able  previously  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  es- 
tablishment of  your  department,  which,  in  your  absence,  will 
become  more  necessary  than  it  has  been  heretofore.  But,  if 
it  is  not  done,  I  would  not  have  it  detain  you.  Assure  your- 
self that,  wherever  you  are,  my  best  wishes  for  your  success 
and  happiness  attend  you." 

Congress,  in  their  session  of  the  30th  of  October,  1780, 
approved  the  appointment,  by  the  commander-in-chief,  of 
Major  General  Greene  to  the  southern  army,  and  adopted  his 
opinion  that  the  talents  and  service  of  Major  General  the 
Baron  Steuben,  inspector  general,  would  be  very  useful  in  the 
southern  department,  to  which  he  was  directed  to  repair. 

Greene  and  Steuben  were  old  friends.  They  had  been 
drawn  near  to  each  other  at  Valley  Forge,  when  the  latter 
was  aided  by  the  former  in  the  introduction  of  his  system  of 
tactics.     From  the  very  moment  of  Steuben's  entering  the 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vii.,  276. 
15* 


346  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

army,  the  importance  of  his  acquisition  was  acknowledged 
and  appreciated  by  Greene,  who  became  thenceforth  the  sin- 
cere and  eloquent  advocate  of  Steuben's  reforms,  while  Steu- 
ben, at  all  times,  was  ready  to  assist  and  advise  him  in  his 
new  position  of  quarter-master  general.  They  were  both  act- 
ive in  departments  closely  related  to  each  other,  and  thus  had 
every  opportunity  of  becoming  intimately  acquainted,  and  of 
appreciating  their  mutual  value.  Steuben,  therefore,  placed 
himself  most  readily  under  the  command  of  his  old  friend, 
who  shared  the  same  zeal  and  disposition.  During  the  whole 
of  the  campaign,  their  relatiou  was  kept  up,  pure  and  undis- 
turbed, and  affords  a  very  favorable  contrast  to  the  various 
chicaneries  and  jealousies  so  often  indulged  in  by  other  gen- 
erals, who  thus  render  their  own  respective  positions  tedious 
and  disagreeable. 

Steuben  at  once  proceeded  to  Philadelphia  to  receive  his 
orders  from  Greene,  and  to  make  his  preparations.  He  left 
that  city  in  the  beginning  of  November,  1780,  in  company 
with  General  Greene.  The  family  of  the  latter  consisted  of  his 
two  aids,  Major  Burnet  and  Colonel  Morris;  that  of  Steuben, 
of  Major  Benjamin  Walker  and  Duponceau.  u  We  spent," 
relates  Duponceau,*  "  the  first  night  together,  if  I  recollect 
right,  at  Chester.  General  Greene,  having  some  business  to 
transact  with  the  Governors  of  Delaware  and  Maryland,  we 
parted  somewhere  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  pursued  our 
route  to  Richmond,  in  Virginia.  On  our  way,  the  baron  paid 
a  visit  to  Mrs.  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon.  We  were  most 
cordially  received  and  invited  to  dinner.  The  external  appear- 
ance of  the  mansion  did  not  strike  the  baron  favorably.  *  If,' 
said  he, '  Washington  were  not  a  better  general  than  he  was  an 
architect,  the  aifairs  of  America  would  be  in  a  very  bad  condi- 
tion.' The  house  at  that  time  might  he  considered  handsome, 
and  perhaps  elegant ;  but  at  present,  the  most  that  can  be  said 
of  it  is,  that  it  was  a  modest  habitation,  quite  in  keeping  with 
*  Duponceau,  MS.  Letters,  No.  xi.,  dated  Philadelphia,  September  9,  1837. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  347 

the  idea  that  we  have  of  Cincinnatus,  and  of  those  of  the  other 
great  commanders  of  the  Roman  republic.  In  the  interior  we 
saw  only  two  rooms,  separated  by  an  entry,  one  of  which  was 
a  parlor,  the  other  the  dining-room.  They  were  respectably, 
but  not  luxuriously  furnished.  The  baron  having  accepted 
the  invitation,  we  sat  down  to  dinner.  Mrs.  Washington  was 
accompanied  by  a  young  lady,  a  relative,  whose  name,  I  think, 
was  Miss  Custis.  The  table  was  abundantly  served,  but  with- 
out profusion." 

Greene  arrived  at  Richmond  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber, and  after  a  short  stay  went  further  south.  "  The  distress 
and  suffering,"  he  wrote  to  Jefferson,  on  the  20th  of  Novem- 
ber, "  of  the  inhabitants  of  North  and  South  Carolina  deserve 
the  most  speedy  support  to  keep  alive  that  spirit  of  enterprise 
which  has  prevailed  among  them  lately  so  much  to  their  honor ; 
and  it  is  much  easier  to  oppose  the  enemy  in  those  States  while 
the  tide  of  sentiment  is  in  our  favor,  than  it  will  be  to  secure 
Virginia  after  they  are  overrun  ;  a  misfortune  which  may  prove 
fatal  to  the  happiness  and  independence  of  America." 

On  the  other  hand,  Greene  was  too  good  a  general  not  to  dis- 
cover at  once  that  his  success  in  the  South  depended  in  no  small 
degree  upon  the  state  of  things  in  Virginia;  that  unless  affairs 
there  were  put  on  a  better  footing,  he  could  not  hope  to  satisfy 
what  was  generally  expected  from  him.  If  he  were  to  reconquer 
the  Carolinas,  he  had  to  rely  on  Virginia,  which  had  to  secure 
and  cover  his  rear,  and  provide  him  with  the  means  of  carry- 
ing on  an  obstinate  war.  In  this  emergency,  Greene  counted 
on  Steuben,  from  whose  energy,  talents,  and  discretion,  both 
he  and  the  army  looked  for  the  happiest  results.  On  the  20th 
of  November,  1780,  before  leaving  Richmond  for  Hillsborough 
to  take  the  command  of  the  southern  army,  he  gave  the  follow- 
ing instructions  to  Steuben  :* 

"  As  the  enemy  are  still  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  as  it  is  al- 
together uncertain  whether  they  mean  to  leave  this  State  or 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  iii. 


348  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

not,  I  leave  you  to  take  command  here.  I  have  such  an  en- 
tire confidence  in  your  capacity  and  experience,  that  I  shall 
not  pretend  to  give  any  particular  instructions,  but  leave  you 
perfectly  at  liberty  to  govern  yourself  as  circumstances  shall 
render  necessary. 

"  You  will,  as  soon  as  possible,  collect  a  state  of  the  force 
now  on  foot  in  this  State,  the  different  corps  and  time  of  ser- 
vice, which  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  forward  me,  with  such 
remarks  thereon  as  may  occur.  It  is  also  my  earnest  desire 
that  you  collect,  as  soon  as  possible,  all  the  officers  belonging 
to  the  Virginia  line,  and  fix  with  them  the  names  and  number 
that  will  continue  in  service.  The  resolutions  of  Congress 
will  be  your  guide  in  this  business. 

"  I  wish  you  to  examine  into  the  conditions  of  all  the  pub- 
lic works  and  stores  belonging  to  the  Continent  in  this  State, 
and  that  a  general  return  be  made  of  the  articles  belonging  to 
the  different  departments. 

"The  quarter-master  general's  department  is  totally  de- 
ranged in  this  State,  and  no  deputy  appointed  to  act.  You 
will  get  the  governor  to  make  an  appointment  without  loss  of 
time,  and  give  the  persons  appointed  directions  to  lay  in  fo- 
rage, and  provide  for  forwarding  the  pubic  stores  through  this 
State  coming  from  the  northward.  The  stores  from  Philadel- 
phia will  come  by  the  way  of  Lancaster,  York,  Fredericks- 
town,  in  Maryland,  and  Fredericksburg,  in  Virginia.  This 
matter  is  of  great  importance,  and  will  claim  your  immediate 
attention. 

"  I  am  told  there  is  a  great  number  of  arms  in  this  State 
which  are  out  of  repair,  but  that  a  considerable  part  of  them 
are  easily  put  in  order.  As  there  is  a  pressing  demand  for  this 
article,  and  as  it  will  increase  upon  the  recruits  coming  in  to 
be  raised  in  this  State,  it  will  be  highly  important  to  the 
service  to  fix  upon  some  plan  to  have  them  repaired.  You 
will,  therefore,  concert  with  the  governor,  as  they  are  State 
arms,  the  most  proper  measures  for  having  them  put  in  repair. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  349 

"  It  is  my  desire  that  Colonel  Lawson's  corps  of  horse  and 
foot  should  march  immediately  and  join  the  southern  army ; 
and  you  will  give  the  orders  accordingly,  having  first  settled 
with  the  governor  whether  they  are  under  Continental  orders 
or  not. 

u  Let  an  officer  be  appointed  to  superintend  the  recruiting 
service  in  the  State,  and  direct  him  to  fix  the  places  of  rendez- 
vous for  receiving  the  recruits  as  soon  as  possible.  Colonel 
Davies,  I  think,  will  be  a  very  suitable  person  for  this  service. 
I  shall  leave  with  you  a  copy  of  the  requisition  made  to  this 
State,  and  desire  you  to  urge  an  immediate  compliance. 

"  You  will  write  Congress  and  the  board  of  war  the  state 
and  condition  you  find  things  respecting  our  prospects  of  sup- 
plies of  clothing,  and  means  of  transportation. 

"  As  soon  as  Major  Lee's  legion  arrives  at  this  place, 
you  will  order  them  on  to  the  southern  army  without  loss  of 
time. 

"  I  am  altogether  uninformed  respecting  the  ordnance  de- 
partment in  this  State.  I  beg  you,  therefore,  to  call  upon 
Colonel  Harrison,  the  commanding  officer  of  artillery  in  the 
southern  department,  and  who  is  now  with  the  troops  below, 
and  get  an  account  of  him  of  the  state  of  artillery  and  other 
branches  of  the  ordnance  department  in  the  southern  States, 
which  I  wish  you  to  provide  me  a  copy  of. 

"  I  beg  you  to  let  me  hear  from  you  as  often  as  possible, 
giving  a  state  of  the  train  the  public  business  is  in." 

The  task  thus  imposed  upon  Steuben  was  extremely  diffi- 
cult and  odious,  especially  that  part  of  it  which  consisted  in 
forwarding  as  many  reinforcements  as  possible  from  Virginia, 
for  Greene's  army.  While  its  proper  fulfillment  required  a 
good  deal  of  judgment  and  military  experience,  the  duties  of 
his  office  were  such  as  to  lead  to  an  inevitable  conflict  with  the 
State  government.  He  was  placed  in  this  dilemma,  either  to 
please  the  State  of  Virginia  and  neglect  the  general  interest, 
or  to  serve  the  general  interest  and  incur  the  certain  enmity 


,150  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

of  the  State  of  Virginia.  It  is  superfluous  to  say  that  he  chose 
the  latter  at  the  risk  of  his  popularity.  However  respectfully 
his  solicitations  and  demands  were  received  at  first,  the  nature 
of  the  relation  between  the  commanding  general  and  the  State 
government  was  such  that  in  the  course  of  time  they  grew 
tired  of  each  other,  and  the  governor  considered  the  interests 
of  his  State  injured  by  yielding  to  the  demands  which  Steu- 
ben made  for  the  public  good. 

Considering  this  awkward  position,  all  the  entanglements 
and'  troubles  Steuben  had  afterwards  with  the  State  govern- 
ment may  be  easily  accounted  for.  From  different  stand- 
points, and  with  a  great  deal  of  pre-occupation,  the  executive 
and  legislative  power,  as  well  as  Steuben,  have  been  eulogized 
and  reprehended,  or  what  blame  was  due  to  one  has  been 
charged  to  the  other.     This,  however,  is  not  just. 

Steuben  was  in  Virginia  to  attend  to  and  provide  for  the 
interests  of  the  whole  continent.  He  looked  upon  the  single 
State  merely  as  the  coordinate  means  for  promoting  and  ob- 
taining the  higher  end.  The  State,  however,  was  looking  only 
to  itself,  and  no  matter  how  good  its  intentions,  often  was 
wanting  in  judgment  and  failed  to  acknowledge  the  necessity 
of  such  military  measures  as  the  circumstances  called  for.  The 
State  imagined  itself  more  than  once  a  victim  of  conspiracy, 
when  Steuben,  for  the  sake  of  the  southern  army,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  entire  South  and  the  whole  Union,  disposed  of  what 
belonged  to  the  State;  it  saw  usurpation  of  rights,  and  trans- 
gression of  powers,  in  the  orders  of  the  general  commanding. 
Though  it  may  be  admitted  that  sometimes  these  were  rather 
at  variance  with  what  was  commonly  understood  as  liberty 
and  independence,  they  were  not  the  less  in  accordance  with 
the  interests  of  the  country.  An  army  managed  upon  demo- 
cratic principles  is  an  absurdity,  a  contradiction  in  itself. 
Never  did  a  nation  prove  the  truth  of  this  doctrine  better  than 
the  Americans.  They  were  only  successful,  and  continued  to 
be  so,  after  their  army  was  disciplined  ;  in   other  words,  after 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  351 

every  man  had  learned  to  obey  and  bow  to  the  absolute  will  of 
the  general-in-chief  or  his  superiors. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Steuben,  with  the  views  and  prin- 
ciples of  strict  obedience  he  had  acquired  in  the  Prussian 
army,  often  came  in  conflict  with  the  ideas  prevailing  at  the 
time  in  this  country,  and  that  he  must  have  hurt  the  feelings 
of  a  good  many.  But  if  he  made  a  mistake  now  and  then,  he 
was  prompted  by  his  anxiety  to  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  even  a  blunder  ought  not  to  detract  from  his  great  merit. 

On  the  other  side,  party  fanatics  went  so  far  as  to  accuse 
Jefferson,  the  governor  at  the  time,  that  he  had  done  too  little 
for  the  defense  of  the  State.  This  imputation  is  just  as  ground- 
less as  that  against  Steuben,  and  probably  would  never  have 
been  raised  if  Jefferson  had  not  been  so  famous  in  politics  in 
later  years.  He  did  all  he  could,  and  responded  to  Steuben's 
requisitions,  so  long  as  it  was  in  his  power,  but  as  energetic 
and  active  as  he  was,  he  was  not  able  to  overcome  the  difficul- 
ties with  which  the  people  of  the  State  blocked  his  path.  In 
regard  to  Jefferson's  relations  with  Steuben,  we  must  remark, 
that  no  matter  how  often  they  varied  in  their  respective  plans 
and  pretensions,  they  esteemed  each  other  highly.  Steuben 
did  not  hold  the  governor  responsible  for  the  delays  and  faults 
of  the  State  ;  but  found  that  the  slow  movements  of  the  Leg- 
islature, and  the  want  of  enthusiasm  in  the  people,  produced 
them.  Jefferson,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  look  upon  Steu- 
ben as  an  obstinate  grumbler,  but  as  a  general  ever  ready 
and  anxious  to  promote  the  interests  of  his  country.  These 
amicable  relations  continued  until  Steuben's  death. 

The  evil  which  affected  the  whole  of  Virginia,  and  which 
almost  led  to  her  ruin,  was  the  infinite  disorder,  the  reckless- 
ness pervading  all  classes,  and  the  incredibly  extravagant  squan- 
dering of  all  her  resources. 

The  state  of  things  which  Steuben  noticed  on  his  arrival 
at  Valley  Forge  was  bad,  but  in  Virginia  it  was  still  worse. 
We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  State  and  its  inhabitants  were 


352  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

inactive  at  the  start,  or  that  they  were  unwilling  to  make  sac- 
rifices. They  did  every  thing  at  the  wrong  time,  without  plan, 
control  or  system,  and  thus  did  more  harm  than  good.  Every 
thing  was  in  confusion.  Nowhere  was  any  discipline  notice- 
able. Embezzling  and  squandering,  robbery  and  theft,  were 
carried  on  on  a  great  scale.  The  natural  consequence  of  this 
chaos  was,  that  the  zeal  of  the  people,  when  they  saw  the 
unavailability  of  all  exertions  heretofore  made,  became  ex- 
tremely lax.  They  considered  their  personal  sufferings  only ; 
they  paid  no  attention  to  the  general  trouble  ;  they  concealed 
what  they  possessed  ;  nothing  could  move  them  to  make  fresh 
sacrifices,  and  they  looked  even  upon  the  man  who  was  to  set 
matters  and  things  aright,  as  their  enemy,  and  opposed  Steu- 
ben's arrangements  wherever  they  could. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  the 
unwillingness,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  to  comply  with  the 
requisitions  which  Steuben  had  made  on  it  for  supplying  the 
southern  army.     He  had  asked* 

"  That  the  State  immediately  furnish  its  quota,  agreeably 
to  the  new  establishment,  and  that  the  men  be  supplied  with 
clothing,  blankets,  arms  and  every  accouterment  necessary  to 
equip  them  lor  the  field,  in  a  winter's  campaign,  and  that  Lawr- 
son's  corps,  and  General  Stevens'  militia,  continue  in  service 
until  the  regular  regiments  are  formed. 

"  That  the  State  immediately  lay  up  a  magazine  of  ten 
thousand  barrels  of  flour  and  five  thousand  barrels  of  beef 
and  pork,  at  Taylor's  Ferry,  and  upwards  upon  the  Roanoke  ; 
and  if  it  shall  be  found  that  provisions  can  be  conveyed  down 
the  Wateree  River  in  boats,  that  they  take  measures  for  lodg- 
ing the  whole  upon  the  waters  of  the  Yadkin,  near  Bythinia. 

a  That  the  State  put  up  three  thousand  head  of  cattle,  to 
be  stall-fed  for  the  use  of  the  southern  army,  to  be  driven  to 
camp  for  slaughter  as  they  are  called  for,  and  that  some  per- 
son be  appointed  to  set  about  this  business  without  loss  of 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiv. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  353 

time,  as  it  will  be  impossible  to  feed  the  southern  army  alto- 
gether upon  salted  provisions,  for  want  of  the  means  of  trans- 
portation. 

"  That  the  State  furnish  one  hundred  good  road  wagons, 
with  a  driver,  four  horses  and  harness  complete  to  each 
wagon,  and  that  these  be  got  ready  for  service  as  soon  as 
possible. 

"That  the  State  furnish  forty  artificers  for  the  use  of 
the  southern  army ;  that  twelve  of  them  be  shipwrights  or 
boat-builders,  twelve  house  carpenters,  four  wheelwrights,  six 
smiths,  three  armorers,  two  saddlers,  and  one  harness  maker. 
These  may  be  negroes,  if  such  can  be  had. 

"  That  the  State  furnish  two  hundred  hogsheads  of  rum 
or  other  spirits,  to  be  deposited  with  the  provisions  upon  the 
Roanoke. 

"  That  the  State  furnish  such  quantity  of  provisions  at  the 
dhTerent  places  of  rendezvous  for  receiving  recruits,  as  the 
officer  superintending  this  service  in  the  State  may  require, 
and  that  full  and  ample  supplies  of  forage  be  provided  for 
the  use  of  the  quarter-master  general's  department  to  enable 
him  to  perform  the  business  of  transportation,  and  other  ser- 
vices that  may  be  required  of  him. 

u  That  the  State  supply  the  military  chest  with  five  thou- 
sand pounds  of  specie,  or  the  value  thereof,  to  defray  the  con- 
tingent expenses  of  the  army,  and  that  such  sums  be  advanced 
to  the  officers  of  the  Virginia  line  as  will  enable  them  to  equip 
themselves  for  the  field." 

In  the  course  of  our  history  we  shall  have  to  revert  fre- 
quently to  this  state  of  things,  in  order  to  understand  fully 
the  protraction  of  the  war  in  the  South. 

To  resume  our  narrative  :  Greene  was  well  aware  that  his 
weak  side  was  not  in  Virginia,  and  wishing  to  secure  himself 
against  the  advancing  of  the  enemy  into  North  Carolina,  he 
most  urgently  directed  Steuben,  as  well  in  his  above-quoted 
instructions  as  in  a  letter  written  two  days  later,  at  Peters- 


354  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

burg,  that  he  should  order  Lawson's  corps  to  march  imme- 
diately southward. 

Notwithstanding  the  representations  of  Steuben  and  the 
orders  of  the  governor,  Lawson  made  no  haste  to  obey.  He 
arrived  on  the  26th  of  November,  1780,  in  Richmond,  and  did 
not  report  himself  to  Steuben  until  the  28th.  According  to 
his  returns  his  corps  consisted  of  three  hundred  and  seventy, 
eight  men  available  for  duty.  Steuben  proposed  to  pass  them 
in  review  on  the  30th  of  November,  and  to  send  them  on  the 
1st  of  December  to  Hillsborough,  on  their  way  to  join  the 
southern  army.  Anxious  to  support  Greene  with  all  his  power, 
Steuben  informed  him  on  the  28th  of  November,  of  his  inten- 
tion. He  indeed  reviewed  the  corps  on  the  30th  at  Peters- 
burg, but  found  only  fifty-seven  cavalry  and  two  hundred  and 
eighty  infantry,  who  were  ordered  to  march  the  next  morning. 
On  the  appointed  day  General  Lawson  told  Steuben  that  the 
Assembly  had  passed  a  resolution  for  discharging  the  men  at 
Petersburg,  and  the  next  day  the  resolution  w^as  really  sent 
by  the  governor  to  Steuben,  wTho  made  every  effort  to  engage 
the  men  for  a  longer  term.  But  his  exertions  were  vain ;  the 
men  had  already  the  idea  of  going  home,  and  nothing  could 
induce  them  to  stay.  Steuben  then  asked  Lawson  and  the 
colonel's  opinion,  if  they  thought  the  men  would  proceed  un- 
der the  enlistment  by  which  they  were  already  engaged,  and 
was  told  they  would  proceed  with  great  reluctance  and  many 
would  desert.  On  considering  this  he  was  in  favor  of  dis- 
charging them.  "  I  can  assure  you,  sir,''  says  Steuben,  in  a 
private  letter,  of  the  4th  of  December,  1780,  to  Greene,  "that 
you  need  not  regret  their  not  joining  you,  for  from  the  ill  con- 
dition of  the  corps  with  respect  to  discipline,  arms,  etc.,  and 
the  short  time  of  their  enlistment,  they  would  have  rendered 
very  little  service." 

"  Upon  the  whole,"  answers  Greene,  from  the  Pedee,  on 
the  28th  of  December,  1780,*  "I  am  not  sorry  that  General 

*  Greene's  MS.  Letters. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  355 

Lawson's  corps  did  not  come  on ;  they  would  have  been  of 
little  use,  their  time  of  service  being  too  short.  Nor  am  I  sur- 
prised at  what  you  inform  me  respecting  the  officers  of  the 
Virginia  line.  They  have  been  too  long  neglected,  and  on 
that  account  have  been  too  much  indulged  in  being  at  home, 
until  all  sense  of  duty  and  discipline  are  lost.  The  State 
either  value  their  services  too  low  or  have  not  the  ability  to 
provide  for  them.  They  are  either  poor  or  blamable,  which,  I 
am  not  able  to  determine.  However,  you  must  talk  one  lan- 
guage to  the  State,  and  another  to  the  officers.  The  State 
must  be  pressed  to  provide,  and  the  officers  to  obey.  Our 
force  is  so  small,  and  that  which  we  have  so  badly  provided, 
that  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  reinforcements  come  for- 
ward as  fast  as  they  can  be  equipped  fit  for  service ;  and  what 
renders  it  more  necessary  at  this  time,  is,  the  enemy  have  re- 
ceived a  large  reinforcement  and  our  force  is  divided." 

Steuben  did  all  he  could  in  order  to  accomplish  Greene's 
wishes,  and  to  prevail  upon  the  government  of  the  State  to 
dispatch  a  considerable  number  of  troops,  but  he  was  not  suc- 
cessful. 

"  Instead  of  forwarding  to  General  Greene  the  reinforce- 
ments, he  expects,"  writes  Steuben,  on  the  27th  of  November, 
1780,  to  Jefferson,'"  "  we  are  keeping  a  number  of  corps  dis- 
persed about  the  State,  where  no  enemy  has  been  these  eight 
days,  thereby  exposing  General  Greene  with  an  inferior  force 
to  the  enemy,  and  exhausting  what  little  provision  was  col- 
lected in  the  State."  Generals  Muhlenberg,  Wilson,  and  Nel- 
son, still  continued  at  the  head  of  their  separate  armies.  The 
expenses  of  keeping  such  a  number  of  corps  were  of  course 
enormous  and  wholly  unnecessary.  "  I  find  confirmed,"  writes 
Greene,  on  the  27th  of  November,  1780, f  "in  this  State,  what 
I  apprehended,  that  is,  that  the  numerous  militia  which  have 
been  kept  on  foot,  have  laid  waste  almost  all  the  country,  and 
the  policy,  if  persisted  in,  must  in  a  little  time  render  it  alto- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  iii.  f  Greene's  MS.  Letters. 


356  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

gether  impracticable  to  support  a  regular  body  of  troops  suffi- 
cient to  give  protection  and  security  to  the  State.  The  ex- 
penses attending  this  business  in  the  waste  of  stores  of  various 
kinds  exceed  all  belief.  Twelve  millions  of  money,  I  am  told, 
have  been  expended  since  last  spring.  I  hope  Virginia  will 
avoid  this  destructive  policy,  and  I  beg  leave  to  recommend 
it  both  to  them  and  to  you  not  to  keep  a  man  more  in  the  field, 
of  the  militia,  than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  covering  the 
country  from  the  enemy's  ravages." 

Steuben  fully  appreciating  and  sharing  General  Greene's 
apprehensions,  imparted  them,  as  in  duty  bound,  to  the  gov- 
ernor, and  proposed  to  discharge  immediately  all  the  militia 
who  were  not  destined  to  go  South  ;  but  for  a  long  while  he 
could  not  succeed  in  effecting  his  object.  It  was  even  im- 
possible to  get  a  return  of  the  number  of  men  whom  the  State 
had  on  foot,  or  the  time  for  which  they  were  enlisted  ;  and 
when  they  were  finally  discharged,  the  arms  and  other  articles 
with  which  they  had  been  provided  on  entering  the  service, 
were  lost,  or  at  least  not  forthcoming. 

"The  more  difficult  it  is,"  said  Steuben,  in  a  letter  to 
Washington,  dated  on  the  18th  of  December,  1780,*  "to  re- 
cruit our  army,  the  more  necessary  is  it  to  remove  the  abuses 
which  cause  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  our  battalions. 
In  consequence  of  your  Excellency's  orders  a  good  many  of 
these  abuses  have  already  been  abolished  in  the  northern 
army  ;  but  they  are  still  luxuriously  growing  in  the  southern 
army,  where  they  are  sapping  all  military  order,  while  in 
the  Virginia  line  they  have  even  reached  their  highest  pitch. 
This  State,  having  only  a  handful  of  regulars  in  the  field,  is 
continually  ransacked  by  bands  of  officers  and  soldiers,  who 
have  always  a  pretext  for  not  joining  their  regiments,  and 
who  are  drawing  pay  and  rations  for  doing  no  service  at  all, 
while  they  are  committing  excesses  everywhere.  Since  the 
Virginia  line  was  detailed  to  the  southern  army,  it  was  never 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  357 

regularly  formed  ;  nay,  since  I  have  been  in  the  United  States 
it  has  not  had  a  regular  organization.  Your  Excellency  will 
recollect  that  in  Valley  Forge  the  brigades  of  Woodford  and 
Scott  consisted  only  of  a  few  soldiers  and  officers,  confusedly 
mixed  together  without  any  distinction  of  companies  or  reg- 
iments. In  such  a  condition  every  corps  must  be  ruined. 
The  officers  do  not  care  for  their  soldiers,  and  they  scarcely 
know  the  officers  who  have  to  command  them." 

This  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  officers  was  still  on  the 
increase  in  Virginia. 

The  next  thing  Steuben  proposed  to  do,  was  to  pick  out 
four  hundred  of  the  best  provided  men  of  Muhlenberg's 
corps,  which  at  that  time  consisted  of  about  nine  hundred 
men,  and  to  send  them  on  immediately,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Green,  to  reinforce  the  southern  army. 

"  This  has  produced  an  event,"  writes  Steuben  to  Greene, 
at  Petersburg,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1780,  "  which  appears 
to  me  very  extraordinary.  Yesterday  a  paper  was  handed 
me,  signed  by  the  officers,  complaining  of  ill  usage  from  the 
State,  and  of  the  distressed  situation  of  the  officers  and  men, 
concluding,  that  till  something  was  done  for  them,  they  would 
not  think  of  marching.  You  may  suppose  I  was  exceedingly 
shocked  at  such  a  proceeding ;  however,  as  it  was  not  ad- 
dressed to  me,  I  thought  it  more  prudent  to  take  no  other 
notice  of  it,  than  to  speak  to  General  Muhlenberg  on  the 
subject.  I  represented  fully  to  him,  and  to  Colonels  Harrison 
and  Green,  the  fatal  consequences  of  such  a  proceeding,  and 
they  promised  to  speak  to  the  officers." 

Muhlenberg,  Green  and  Harrison  made  every  effort  to  an- 
swer Steuben's  wish,  and  by  their  influence  on  officers  and 
men  they  succeeded  in  getting  the  offensive  resolution  with- 
drawn. Thus  the  corps  was  brought  to  reason,  and  after 
being  completely  provided  with  clothing,  arms  and  camp 
equipage,  marched,  on  the  14th  of  December,  for  the  southern 
army.     The  whole  detachment  consisted  of  four  hundred  and 


358  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

fifty-six  men.  The  peaceable  means  to  which  Steuben  was 
obliged  to  resort  to  quell  this  mutiny,  exposes  but  too  clearly 
his  helplessness  and  the  insufficiency  of  his  power. 

We  shall  hereafter  very  often  meet  Muhlenberg,  as  he 
commanded  under  Steuben  in  Virginia,  and  during  that  time 
came  in  daily  contact  with  him. 

John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg,*  born  on  the  1st  of  October, 
1746,  in  La  Trappe,  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  in 
his  character  very  much  like  Steuben.  He  had  the  same  frank 
and  true-hearted  soul,  and  in  every  respect  was  a  capable  and 
faithful  officer.  His  father,  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  from 
Eimbeck  in  Hanover,  came  to  America  in  the  year  1742,  prompt- 
ed by  the  theological  circle  of  Francke  in  Halle,  and  became  here 
the  founder  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church.  He  may  well  be 
looked  upon  as  the  most  important  and  influential  German  who 
immigrated  in  the  last  century,  and  enjoyed  the  highest  esteem 
and  social  position  among  all  classes.  His  oldest  son,  Peter,  was 
also  intended  for  a  preacher,  and  after  having  spent  his  boyhood 
in  the  woods  and  mountains  of  La  Trappe,  in  the  year  1763 
was  sent  to  Halle,  in  order  to  complete  his  education.  The 
sprightly  and  energetic  boy  was,  however,  ill  fitted  for  his 
intended  vocation.  He  preferred  rambling  about  in  the  woods 
and  fields  to  the  school  hours  on  the  benches  of  the  Orphan  In- 
stitute, and  was  of  course  an  indifferent  scholar.  Little  more 
than  a  year  he  bore  the  confinement.  One  day  he  had  a  fight 
with  one  of  his  teachers,  and  ran  away  from  the  college.  He 
chose  the  only  opening  offered  to  him  in  his  distress,  by  en- 
listing as  a  private  in  a  regiment  of  dragoons  which  happened 
to  pass  through  Halle.  Being  recognized  by  a  friend  of  his 
family,  Muhlenberg  owed  it  to  him  that  after  having  served 
nearly  a  year,  he  was  discharged,  and  at  once  sent  back  to 
America.  The  iron  discipline  exercised  in  the  military  service 
of  that  time  had  somewhat  softened  his  temper,  and  his  father, 

*  The  Life  of  Major  General  Peter  Muhlenberg,  by  H.  A.  Muhlenberg, 
Philadelphia,  1849 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  359 

glad  to  see  him  back,  forgave  him  all  his  past  offenses.  If 
Peter  had  been  allowed  to  pursue  his  own  inclinations,  he 
would  have  followed  hunting  and  farming,  but  he  felt  himself 
bound  to  acquiesce  in  the  wishes  of  his  father,  and  became 
a  preacher.  In  this  capacity  he  acted  at  first  in  New  Ger- 
mantown,  Somerset  county,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and 
afterwards  in  Woodstock,  Dunmore  county,  Virginia.  Here 
he  took  an  active  part  in  the  difficulties  and  troubles  just  com- 
mencing with  England,  communicated  with  the  most  impor- 
tant politicians  of  the  State,  as  Patrick  Henry  and  Washing- 
ton, and  was  elected  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  and 
of  the  convention  at  Williamsburg.  When,  in  the  winter  of 
1775-1776,  the  hostilities  commenced  in  Virginia,  and  six  new 
regiments  were  created,  in  addition  to  those  already  existing, 
Muhlenberg  was  nominated  colonel  of  the  eighth.  From  this 
period  he  became  a  zealous  soldier.  In  taking  leave  of  his 
little  congregation,  in  the  middle  of  January,  1776,  and  men- 
tioning at  the  end  of  his  sermon  that  the  hour  of  battle  had 
come,  he  at  once  threw  off  his  gown,  and  stood  before  his 
hearers  in  full  uniform  in  the  pulpit,  ordered  the  drummers  to 
beat  a  march,  and  opened  a  list  for  the  signature  of  recruits. 
Nearly  three  hundred  German  members  came  forward  to  en- 
ter their  names,  and  thenceforth  followed  the  standard  of 
Muhlenberg.  This  corps  distinguished  itself  during  the  whole 
war,  under  the  name  of  the  "  German  Regiment,"  by  its 
good  discipline  and  bravery.  Muhlenberg,  after  having  been 
employed,  during  the  year  1776,  in  defending  the  southern 
provinces,  received  orders,  in  the  summer  of  1777,  to  join  the 
main  army,  where  he  remained  until  the  winter  of  1779.  At 
this  time  he  was  sent  once  more  to  Virginia,  and  was  com- 
mander-in-chief in  that  State  until  the  arrival  of  Steuben. 

It  was  Steuben's  design  and  task  to  dispatch  all  the  Vir- 
ginia regulars  to  General  Greene  in  the  South,  so  soon  as  their 
places  were  filled  by  the  new  drafts  of  recruits  who  were  to 
assemble,  and  so  soon  as  the  cloth,  accouterments  and  arms 


360  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

necessary  for  their  equipment,  could  be  collected.     But  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  men,  stores  and  arms  was  much  greater 
than  could  reasonably  be  expected.     For  attaining  his  purpose 
Steuben  ordered  Muhlenberg's  corps,  and  those  of  the  militia 
who  were  engaged  for  three  months  and  more,  to  Petersburg, 
while  he  appointed  at  the  same  time  Colonel  William  Davies, 
an  excellent  officer,  to  proceed  to  Chesterfield  to  collect,  equip, 
discipline  and  forward  to  the  army  the  recruits  who  were  to 
be  raised  in  the  State.     He  also  ordered  two  magazines  to  be 
established  there  for  the  quarter-master's  and  field  commissa- 
ry's stores,  and  barracks  provided  for  at  least  three  hundred 
men.      As   soon   as  two  hundred  men  were  assembled  and 
equipped  in  the  best  possible  manner,  Colonel  Davies  had  to 
form  them  into  four  companies  of  fifty  men  each,  with  at  least 
two  officers  to  each  company,  and  thus  send  them  to  the  army. 
The  Virginia  troops  under  General  Greene  were  literally 
naked,  and  consequently  dirty,  and  exceedingly  deficient  in  dis- 
cipline.    "  I  wish  you  to  inform  the  State,"  writes  Greene  to 
Steuben,  on  the  8th  of  December,  from  his  camp  at  Charlotte, 
"  that  the  troops  must  be  properly  found  with  every  thing  to 
fit  them  for  service,  or  that  they  will  not  be  received.     Urge 
the  State  to  begin  the  forming  the  magazines  upon  the  Ro- 
anoke, for  I  am  much  afraid  provision  will  fail  us  in  this  State ; 
not  altogether  from  a  scarcity,  but  the  want  of  money.     Use 
every  argument  you  can  to  convince  the  Assembly  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  clothing  their  troops.     If  they  mean  they  shall  ren- 
der any  service,  or  do  not  wish  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  death,  de- 
sertion and  disease,  I  beg  them  to  give  their  men  good  cover- 
ing, for  without  it  this  will  be  their  portion." 

Thus  the  most  prominent  difficulties  in  Steuben's  way  were, 
how  to  raise  the  troops  and  keep  them  up  to  their  number, 
and  how  to  provide  them  with  clothing,  arms  and  provisions. 
"  By  the  inclosed  copy  of  General  Greene's  instructions  to 
me,"  writes  Steuben,  on  the  8th  of  December,  1780,  to  the 
board  of  war  and  Washington,*  "  you  will  see  what  kind  of 
*  Steuben  MS.  Copy-Book. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  361 

business  I  am  left  here  to  transact,  but  I  can  not  so  easily  rep- 
resent to  you  the  difficulties  I  meet  with  in  the  execution. 
The  derangement  of  the  finances  is  more  sensibly  felt  here  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  continent.  All  the  wheels  of  the  ad- 
ministration are  stopped ;  the  late  invasion  of  the  enemy  has 
completed  the  confusion.  The  few  articles  which  were  in 
the  Continental  as  well  as  State  magazines  were  distributed, 
without  any  orders,  to  the  several  corps  of  volunteers,  militia, 
etc.,  and  although  the  strictest  orders  have  been  given  to  col- 
lect the  whole,  I  fear  a  considerable  number  will  be  lost. 

"  The  quarter-master's  department,  and  indeed  almost  all 
the  departments  here  have  no  head.  The  executive  part  of 
the  administration  is  carried  on  only  by  expedients,  while  the 
Legislature  can  not  agree  on  any  system  whatsoever.  They 
are  now  debating  on  the  state  of  finances,  and  the  new  ar- 
rangement of  the  army  has  not  yet  been  taken  into  considera- 
tion. 

"  I  find  it  absolutely  impossible  to  give  you  an  exact  ac- 
count of  the  troops  of  this  State.  I  have  found  under  the 
orders  of  General  Muhlenberg  a  body  of  about  eleven  hun- 
dred men,  part  of  whom  are  enlisted  for  eighteen  months, 
another  part  for  eight  months,  and  a  third  for  three  months. 
All  these  men  I  have  found  naked  and  as  ill  armed  as  possible. 
There  were,  besides,  the  scattered  remains  of  two  State  regi- 
ments, consisting  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  enlisted 
for  the  war.  These  troops  are  commanded  by  officers  of  differ- 
ent corps  and  regiments  who  remained  in  the  State  under 
the  order  of  General  Scott.  They  dispersed  since  that  time 
through  the  country,  and  some  have  joined  General  Muhlen- 
berg on  the  late  invasion.  Another  number  of  officers  in  the 
line  are  still  scattered  through  the  State  and  have  not  joined 
General  Muhlenberg,  notwithstanding  the  general  orders  he 
has  issued  to  them  to  do  so. 

"  Nothing  will  be  more  difficult  than  to  arrange  the  line 
of  the  officers  of  this  State  according  to  the  new  establish- 

1G 


362  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ment.  Those  who  are  actually  exchanged,  the  great  number 
who  still  remain  prisoners  of  war,  those  of  the  old  and  new 
State  regiments,  and  of  the  additional  regiments,  all  have  dif- 
ferent pretensions,  of  which  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  de- 
cide. 

"  The  ninth  regiment  is  now  garrisoned  at  Fort  Pitt.  This 
regiment  consists  only  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  ;  it  has 
all  its  officers,  and  is  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Gibson. 
Colonel  Morgan  is  at  the  army  under  General  Greene,  and 
commands  a  company  of  Gibson's  State  regiment  and  several 
other  small  detachments,  of  which  no  returns  have  as  yet  been 
transmitted  to  me.  There  are  with  him  some  officers  belong- 
ing to  different  corps.  Brigadier  General  Stevens  commands 
a  body  of  militia  and  three  months'  men  at  Hillsborough,  with 
whom,  I  think,  he  has  now  joined  General  Greene  at  Salis- 
bury. 

"  The  State  had  raised,  besides,  a  body  of  volunteers  under 
the  command  of  Brigadier  General  Lawson.  The  raising  of 
this  corps  occasioned  a  great  deal  of  expense.  They  were  en- 
listed only  for  six  months,  and  wrere  not  all  together  when 
their  time  wras  so  far  advanced  as  to  have  nearly  expired  at 
the  time  of  their  march  to  the  southern  army.  This  consid- 
eration engaged  the  government  here  to  dismiss  them  before 
they  had  rendered  any  service,  and  the  whole  expense  is  lost 
to  the  public.  The  brigade  consisted  of  fifty-seven  horse  and 
two  hundred  and  eighty-three  infantry. 

"  Another  corps  of  volunteers  and  three  months'  men  was 
in  the  same  case.  It  consisted  of  about  three  hundred  rifle- 
men, and  the  time  of  their  service  was  to  expire  in  six  weeks, 
which  induced  me  to  discharge  them  to  save  provisions. 

"  You  have  now  very  nearly,  gentlemen,  a  complete  ac- 
count of  the  present  state  of  the  military  in  Virginia. 

"  As  soon  as  the  enemy  had  left  the  bay,  my  first  care;  was 
to  dismiss  the  militia  and  those  several  corps  that  were  fruit- 
lessly exhausting  our  magazines.     I  gave  immediate  orders,  to 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  363 

collect  the  articles  so  much  wanted  to  equip  the  men  who  are 
to  reinforce  the  southern  army. 

"  My  first  design  was  to  reinforce  General  Greene  with 
Lawson's  corps  and  a  detachment  of  infantry  of  eight  hundred 
men ;  but  the  former  being  disbanded  and  the  other  troops 
unprovided  with  every  kind  of  necessaries,  all  I  could  do  was 
to  equip  a  regiment  of  four  hundred  infantry  whom  I  will  set 
on  their  march  the  10th  of  this  month,  under  the  orders  of 
Colonel  Green,  and  who  will  join  in  fifteen  days  the  army  at 
Salisbury. 

"  Colonel  Lee's  corps  arrived  here  this  day ;  I  furnished 
him  with  twenty-five  good  men  as  this  State's  quota,  toward 
recruiting  his  corps ;  they  will  set  forward  immediately  and 
arrive  about  the  same  time. 

"I  have  assembled  the  rest  of  the  troops  at  Chesterfield, 
where  there  are  barracks.  In  proportion  as  they  are  equipped, 
I  will  send  them  forward  by  detachments  to  the  army. 

"Neither  the  new  arrangement  nor  any  other  formation 
can  take  place  until  the  officers  and  their  men  have  joined  the 
army.  I  will,  therefore,  publish  an  order  to  all  the  officers  in 
the  line  to  repair  to  Chesterfield,  whence  they  will  conduct 
the  detachments.  When  they  are  arrived  at  the  army,  the 
new  establishment  may  in  pursuance  to  the  orders  of  Congress 
be  finally  determined  on." 

It  was  impossible  to  get  a  return  of  the  number  of  men 
whom  the  State  had  on  foot,  or  of  the  time  for  which  they 
were  enlisted.  Even  a  return  of  the  Virginians  in  service  at 
the  South,  necessary  as  it  was  for  determining  how  many  men 
were  still  to  be  raised,  could  not  be  given  by  the  inspector, 
Colonel  O.  H.  Williams,  as  the  Virginia  troops  were  entirely 
deranged  after  the  defeat  of  Camden,  and  as  there  was  no 
regular  corps  left  in  camp  except  the  regiment  of  Colonel 
Buford.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  not  in  the  power 
of  Steuben  to  arrange  the  State  line  according  to  Greene's 
orders.     The  scattered  situation  of  the  officers,  their  different 


064  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

pretensions,  and  several  other  impediments,  rendered  it  utterly 
impracticable  to  make  any  arrangement  before  all  the  officers 
arrived  at  camp.  The  country  was  full  of  officers  and  men, 
sent  from  the  army  under  various  pretenses,  by  which  the 
service  suffered  exceedingly.  Steuben,  therefore,  ordered  all 
the  Continental  officers  belonging  to  the  Virginia  line,  to  as- 
semble at  Chesterfield  Court-house,  on  or  before  the  10th  of 
February,  1781,  that  their  claims  might  be  considered  and 
finally  decided  upon.  Those  who  failed  to  attend  were  to  be 
considered  as  having  resigned,  those  living  in  the  vicinity  of 
Chesterfield  had  to  repair  thither  as  soon  as  possible,  to  take 
charge  of  the  troops  who  might  be  ready  to  join  the  southern 
army.  In  order  the  more  effectually  to  keep  the  troops  to- 
gether, Steuben  laid  a  plan  for  preventing  desertion,  before  the 
governor,  in  which  he  clearly  indicates  the  abuses  and  disorder 
prevailing  in  the  army. 

"  By  the  long  continuation,"  so  it  begins,  "  of  a  war,  it  is 
natural  that  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  raising  men  should 
increase ;  and,  therefore,  every  possible  means  should  be  em- 
ployed for  the  preservation  of  the  men  after  they  are  raised, 
and  every  abuse  which  has  a  contrary  tendency  should  be  in- 
quired into,  and  those  who  commit  them  severely  punished. 

"  The  incomplete  state  our  regiments  have  always  been  in, 
has  had  a  very  bad  effect  in  this  respect ;  the  regiments  were 
obliged  to  be  incorporated  into  one  another,  and  the  officers 
being  shifted  about  no  longer,  had  not  that  attachment  to  their 
men  which  is  necessary  for  their  preservation  ;  on  the  contrary, 
being  disgusted  at  the  instability  and  smallness  of  their  com- 
mands, they  became  careless  of  their  men  and  suffered  them  to 
absent  themselves  when  wTell,  and  when  sent  away  sick,  took 
no  pains  for  their  recovery  or  their  return,  and  every  doctor 
in  an  hospital  gave  furloughs  and  discharges,  whereby  num- 
bers of  men  have  been  lost  to  the  service. 

"  As  discharges  from  the  army  have  been  without  any  pre- 
scribed form,  and  not  printed,  it  is  more  than  probable  that 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  365 

many  have  been  counterfeited  by  deserters,  who  have  thus 
returned  with  impunity  to  their  homes.  That  these,  and  other 
abuses,  have  been  too  often  committed  in  this  State,  is  evident 
from  the  very  small  number  of  the  eighteen  month  men  now  in 
service." 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  December,  1780,  the  State  As- 
sembly had  resolved  to  raise  three  thousand  men  by  enlist- 
ment for  the  war,  or  by  draft  for  eighteen  months,  in  order  to 
complete  their  line  on  the  new  establishment.  Steuben  found 
this  force  too  small  for  the  purpose  intended.  Persuaded  that 
even  this  number  could  not  be  collected  if  no  greater  precau- 
tions were  taken  than  hitherto,  he  proposed  the  following  plan 
to  the  government : 

"  That  there  should  be  one  general  rendezvous  for  all  the 
recruits  of  the  State  at  Chesterfield  Court-house,  where  Colo- 
nel Davies  was  appointed  to  command. 

"  Besides  this  there  should  not  be  less  than  six  nor  more 
than  eight  places  of  rendezvous,  appointed  by  the  Legislature 
at  places  thought  most  proper,  where  the  recruits  should  be 
delivered  by  the  county  lieutenant,  or  some  person  authorized 
by  him.  A  captain,  two  subalterns,  and  four  sergeants,  to  be 
stationed  at  each  of  these  places  to  receive  the  recruits,  and 
written  instructions  should  be  given  to  each  captain,  with  a 
description  of  the  recruits  that  were  to  be  accepted.  With 
each  recruit  a  paper  should  be  delivered  specifying  his  age, 
size,  trade,  place  of  residence,  county  for  which  he  served,  if 
drafted  or  enlisted,  and  for  how  long,  and  the  bounty  he  re- 
ceived ;  and  as  the  Assembly  had  determined  that  each  district 
should  furnish  their  recruits  with  certain  articles  of  clothing, 
whatever  clothing  was  delivered  with  the  recruit  should  also  be 
inserted,  and  the  whole  signed  by  the  person  who  delivered  them. 

"  The  officer  receiving  the  recruit  should  give  duplicate 
receipts  to  the  county  lieutenant,  one  of  which  he  had  to  keep, 
and  to  send  the  other  to  the  governor  as  voucher  for  the  de- 
livery of  the  recruit.     From  these  places  of  rendezvous  the 


366  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

recruits  were  to  be  sent,  properly  officered,  to  the  general  ren- 
dezvous, where  they  were  to  be  equipped  and  sent  by  detach- 
ments to  the  army. 

"  Colonel  Davies  was  to  be  furnished  by  government  with 
the  number  each  county  had  to  furnish,  that  he  might  inform 
them  from  time  to  time  what  progress  they  made  in  complet- 
ing the  quota  assigned  to  them. 

"  With  these  precautions,"  concludes  Steuben,  "  I  have 
hopes  that  the  deficiencies  will  not  be  so  great  as  they  have 
always  been.  Indeed  I  am  fully  of  opinion  that  hitherto  no- 
body has  known  how  many  recruits  have  been  delivered  by 
the  State  or  received  by  the  army." 

It  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  number  of  recruits  assem- 
bling in  December,  1780,  at  Chesterfield  Court-house,  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  five  or  six  hundred  men,  that  energetic 
measures  should  be  speedily  adopted  to  remedy  the  existing 
abuses.  These  men  were  so  naked,  that  if  some  clothing  and 
blankets  could  not  be  procured,  at  once  for  them,  they  must 
all  fall  sick  before  they  could  be  ordered  to  march.  While 
thus  the  poor  Continentals  were  perishing  for  want  of  the 
barest  necessaries,  the  blankets,  which  the  State  of  Virginia 
had  issued,  and  which  the  militia  had  agreed  to  give  up  for 
the  troops,  were  delivered  to  General  Lawson's  corps,  which 
consisted  mostly  of  persons  of  property — that  same  corps  which 
refused  to  march  for  the  South,  and  which,  being  engaged  only 
for  a  short  term,  had  come  into  the  field  well  provided  with 
clothing.  "  Shoes  and  blankets,"  writes  Davies,  on  the  31st 
of  December,  1780,  to  Steuben,  "and,  indeed,  almost  every 
kind,  of  clothing,  are  universally  wanting.  I  think  not  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  can  take  the  field  as  at  present 
clad,  but  with  clothing  I  think  four  hundred  might  march. 
Indians  are  not  more  naked,  nor  half  so  miserable.  We  have 
seventy  good  tents,  but  we  have  not,  nor  have  I  ever  been 
able  to  get,  notwithstanding  my  frequent  applications,  any 
cords  to  make  loops  with." 


J.  1FE      OF      STEUBEN.  367 

"  It  has  been,"  reports  Davies  on  another  occasion,  "  a  mat- 
ter of  great  concern  to  me,  that  the  officers  can  not  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  confine  themselves  to  this  station ;  they  do  not 
look  upon  the  men  as  permanently  theirs,  and  therefore  they 
will  not  pay  the  same  attention  to  them  as  if  they  were.  Thus 
they  are  entire  strangers  to  the  men  ;  many  have  deserted,  and 
nobody  knows  any  thing  about  it ;  and  to  this  hour  soldiers 
are  dropping  in,  one  after  another,  belonging  to  no  company, 
and  begging  to  be  admitted.  Some  of  the  companies,  too, 
have  no  officers  here,  owing  to  furloughs  which  have  been 
granted,  and  to  their  delay  in  coming  up  from  Petersburg,  so 
that  the  greatest  difficulties  have  occurred  in  completing  the 
rolls.  I  thought  it  better  to  send  them  to  you  imperfect  as 
they  are,  than  run  the  risk  of  delay  which  you  seemed  in  your 
letter  desirous  for  me  to  avoid." 

u  It  is  needless  to  repeat  to  you,"  writes  Colonel  EL  Lee, 
Jr.,  on  the  17th  of  December,  from  Baleysburg,  to  Steuben, 
"our  nakedness  and  wants.  Their  influence  I  have  already 
experienced,  having  lost  three  of  my  old  soldiers  and  one 
wagoner  since  the  morning.  Shoes,  boots,  overalls,  shirts, 
blankets,  vests  and  coats  compose  the  essential  part  of  our 
distress.  We  want  axes  and  horse  shoes  exceedingly,  being 
entirely  destitute  of  these  articles." 

On  the  same  day  Colonel  Davies  asked  two  or  more  whip 
saws  and  hand  saws  for  the  use  of  his  post  at  Chesterfield,  as 
he  had  borrowed  those  he  had  had  in  use,  and  been  compelled 
to  return  them.  "We  are  exceedingly  distressed,"  says 
Davies  at  another  place,  "  for  want  of  somebody  to  attend  to 
our  men  in  camp,  as  the  hospital  is  so  full  we  can  not  lind  room 
for  them.  Three  have  died  in  the  huts  within  these  four 
days,  owTing  to  the  hardships  of  their  situation." 

These  instances  may  suffice  to  show  the  nakedness  of  the 
troops,  the  total  insufficiency  of  means,  and  the  neglect  on  the 
part  of  the  government  to  provide  the  most  indispensable 
necessaries  of  equipage  to  make  the  soldiers  lit  for  duty. 


3G8  LIFE     0  B     a  T  B  U  BEN. 

It  was  but  the  natural  consequence  of  this  state  of  things 
that  insubordination,  want  of  discipline  and  desertion  pre- 
vailed generally.  Even  theft  and  robbery  sometimes  oc- 
curred. "The  store  containing  some  clothing,"  writes  Colonel 
George  Gibson,  dated  Batavia,  on  the  22d  of  December,  1780, 
to  Steuben,  "  for  the  regiment  late  under  my  command,  was 
broken  open  on  Wednesday  last,  and  robbed  of  many  valuable 
articles  to  a  considerable  amount.  Lieutenant  Russell,  who 
first  discovered  the  depredation,  found  the  corporal  absent  from 
his  guard  and  drunk,  and  from  every  other  circumstance  he 
is  induced  to  believe  the  guard  either  were  the  sole  perpe- 
trators of  the  villainy,  or  else  collusively  so.  The  many  rob- 
beries committed  by  the  very  rascals  who  were  placed  as  guards 
have  been  so  frequently  practiced  by  the  soldiery  in  our  line, 
that  impunity  seems  to  have  fixed  this  mode  of  doing  busi- 
ness as  a  matter  of  duty.  However,  I  hope  in  God  the  example 
that  will  be  made  of  these  miscreants  will  deter  others  from 
attenvpting  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  future." 

Under  these  circumstances  Steuben's  operations  proceeded 
but  very  slowly.  He  prevailed,  howrever,  on  the  governor  to 
give  orders  for  the  immediate  purchase  of  clothing  and  blan- 
kets for  five  hundred  men  to  equip  the  troops  at  Chesterfield ; 
he  endeavored  to  procure  as  many  good  arms  as  possible,  with 
bayonets,  and  this  done  he  intended  to  send  to  Greene  another 
detachment  like  that  under  Colonel  Green.  Steuben  wished, 
himself  to  join  General  Greene  as  soon  as  he  had  succeeded  in 
arranging  the  Virginia  line.  He  was  laboring  under  a  severe 
indisposition,  partly  from  the  innumerable  vexations  to  which 
his  official  duties  subjected  him,  and  partly  from  the  badness 
of  the  accommodations  that  were  provided  for  him.  "  It  is 
the  way,"  writes  Davies,  on  the  25th  of  December;  1780,  to 
13.  Walker,  "  this  thankless,  and  I  was  going  to  say,  worthless 
country  treats  all  her  officers.  It'  it  would  be  equally  con- 
venient to  the  baron,  I  will  cheerfully  give  up  my  quarters  to 
him."     Greene  himself  was  anxious  to  got  the  assistance  of 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  309 

Steuben.  "  As  I  am  now,"  writes  he  on  the  28th  of  December, 
1780,  from  his  camp  on  the  Pedee,  "without  a  single  general 
officer  with  me  in  this  camp,  except  General  Huger,  who  is  a 
brigadier  for  this  State,  and  not  desirous  of  commanding  other 
troops,  it  is  my  wish  you  should  come  forward  as  soon  as  you 
have  made  the  necessary  arrangements  on  the  Virginia  line. 
We  are  now  in  a  camp  of  repose,  and  could  we  get  clothing 
we  might  improve  our  discipline.  Your  aid  in  this  and  many 
other  matters  will  be  essential  both  to  me  and  the  service." 

But  it  was  impossible  for  Steuben  to  comply  with  Greene's 
order,  although  his  own  wishes  strongly  prompted  him  to  do 
so.  In  the  first  place  there  was  no  prospect  of  his  being  able 
to  conclude  his  business  in  Virginia,  and  in  addition  to  this 
another  serious  obstacle  arose,  which  still  further  impeded 
Steuben's  progress.  This  obstacle  was  the  invasion  of  the 
State  by  Arnold. 

16* 


CHAPTER    XVII 


Invasion  of  Virginia  by  the  English  under  Mathews  and  Leslie. — The  Impor- 
tance of  this  State  to  the  South. — Invasion  of  Arnold. — Steuben  asks 
Four  Thousand  Militiamen  from  the  Governor. — Steuben's  Report  to  Wash- 
ington and  Greene. — The  Enemy  lands,  on  the  4th  of  January,  1781,  at  West- 
over. — Richmond  is  Arnold's  Destination. — Steuben  can  collect  only  One 
Hundred  Men. — His  Orders  badly   executed. — The  Magazines  of  the   State 

TRANSFERRED  TO  WeSTHAM. — ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FlFTY  CONTINENTALS    ORDERED    TO 

that  Place. —The  Magazines  at  Richmond  taken  by  the  Enemy. — Steuben 
goes  to  Manchester,  opposite  Richmond. — Arnold  Plunders  and  sets  Fire  to 
Richmond,  but  does  not  cross  the  River. — He  retires. — Steuben  follows  him 
to  Petersburg. — Gibson,  Davies,  Garrington,  and  Smallwood  assist  Steuben. 
— General  Nelson  operates  on  the  left  Bank  of  the  River. — Want  of  Arms 
on  the  Part  of  the  Americans. — Arnold  embarks  on  the  10th  of  January. — 
The  Militia  sent  after  him  precipitately  retreats. — Steuben  encamps  at 
Hood's. — He  sends  Five  Hundred  Militiamen  to  Nelson  for  the  Defense  of 
Williamsburg. — His  Opinion  about  the  future  Operations  of  the  Enemy. — 
Steuben  suffers  Privation  in  Every  Thing. — The  State  remains  Inactive. — 
Steuben  marches  with  Seven  Hundred  Militiamen  to  Cabin  Point,  and  sends 
Lawson  after  the  Enemy. — The  Latter  arrives,  on  the  19th  of  Janua.ry,  at 
Portsmouth. — A.  Council  of  War  pronounces  against  an  Attack  of  Ports- 
mouth— Steuben  shuts  Arnold  up  in  Portsmouth,  and  makes  his  Dispositions. 
— Misery  and  Want  everywhere  in  the  State. — The  People  are  Indolent. — 
Reason  why  no  Cavalry  exists. — The  Militia  plunder  and  rob  in  Richmond. 
— Jefferson  supports  Steuben  as  much  as  he  can. — Difference  between  them 
about  the  Division  of  Expenses  between  the  Continent  and  the  State. — 
Bad  Effects  op  this  Dispute  on  the  War. — Jefferson  to  Washington  about 
Steuben.— Colonel  Meade  to  Alexander  Hamilton.— Davies'  and  Howell's 
Letters  to  Steuben  about  the  Want  of  precautionary  Measures  on  the  Part 
of  the  State. — Evil  Consequences  of  this  Policy. 


AFTER  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of  war  to  the  South,  Vir- 
ginia, with  her  rich  resources,  was  repeatedly  invaded  by 
the  British.  The  exposed  situation  of  the  country,  her  scat- 
tered population  and  easily  accessible  streams,  inlets,  rivers 
and  creeks  contributed  much  to  assure  success  to  an  invading 
army,  as  was  proved  in  May,  1779,  when  General  Mathews 
made  a  descent  upon  Virginia  with  two  thousand  men,  and 
burnt,  ravaged  and  plundered  the  whole  sea-board  without 
opposition. 

So  soon  as  Virginia  was  invaded  and  the  great  store-house 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  371 

destroyed,  as  some  had  justly  called  this  State,  which  chiefly 
supplied  the  South,  and  was  so  conveniently  situated  midway 
between  the  northern  and  southern  theater  of  war,  all  resist- 
ance in  the  South  was  rendered  fruitless,  and  the  operations 
of  Lord  Cornwallis,  in  the  Carolinas  were  greatly  facilitated. 
The  breaking  up  of  Virginia,  therefore,  soon  became  one  of 
the  principal  designs  of  the  British. 

In  the  fall  of  1780  another  attack  was  made  upon  that 
State.  Lord  Cornwallis,  after  his  victory  at  Camden,  sent  a 
considerable  body  of  troops,  under  Ferguson,  towards  Vir- 
ginia, and,  at  the  same  time,  an  expedition  sailed  from  New 
York,  under  General  Leslie,  for  the  same  destination.  They 
entered  the  mouth  of  James  river  on  the  loth  of  October, 
1780,  but  finding  a  strong  opposition  from  the  forces  under 
General  Muhlenberg,  who  then  commanded  in  Virginia,  they 
were  confined  to  Portsmouth,  and  having  miserably  failed  in 
their  object  returned  to  New  York  on  the  25th  of  November, 
a  few  days  after  Steuben's  arrival,  Colonel  Ferguson  having 
been  previously  defeated  at  King's  Mountain. 

The  appointment  of  Greene  to  the  southern  army,  and  the 
command  of  Steuben  in  Virginia,  made  it  a  matter  of  impor- 
tance to  the  British  to  renew  their  efforts  to  cut  off  the  sup- 
plies of  men  and  provisions  which  Virginia  was  destined  to 
furnish  for  the  southern  army.  The  notorious  Arnold  was 
deputed  to  accomplish  the  task  which  Leslie  had  failed  to 
perform.  He  could  not  have  arrived  at  a  more  inopportune 
moment  for  the  Americans.  The  militia,  which  had  been 
collected  to  operate  against  Leslie  at  Portsmouth,  was  just 
disbanded ;  the  first  enlistment  of  troops  and  forwarding  of 
men  to  the  South  had  scarcely  begun,  and  the  general  con- 
fusion appeared  greater  than  at  any  time  before,  when  the 
news  of  Arnold's  arrival  spread  over  the  defenseless  and  panic- 
stricken  country. 

Although  the  government  of  the  State  had  been  informed, 
as  early  as  the  9th  of  December,  ]  780,  of  the  approach  of  a 


372  LIFE      OF      STEUREN. 

hostile  expedition,  nothing  was  clone  towards  meeting  at  least 
the  first  difficulties  and  embarrassments.  Everybody  looked 
upon  Steuben  as  their  chief  reliance  in  their  hour  of  pressing 
need ;  but  we  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  how  little 
could  be  expected  from  the  feeble  force,  if  such  it  can  be 
called,  at  his  disposal. 

We  can  not  give  a  better  description  of  the  invasion  than 
the  reports  which  Steuben  made  to  Generals  Greene  and 
Washington,  on  the  8th  and  11th  of  January,  1781,  and  which 
we  quote  in  full. 

"On  the  31st  of  December,"  writes  Steuben  to  Greene, 
"  the  governor  informed  me  of  a  fleet  of  twenty-seven  sail 
having  arrived  at  Willoughby  Point,  in  consequence  of  wdiich 
I  immediately  dispatched  Colonel  Senf  and  Captain  Fairlie 
down  the  south  side  to  procure  intelligence  of  their  strength 
and  destination ;  and  General  Nelson  was  sent,  the  same  day, 
down  the  north  side,  to  act  as  circumstances  might  require. 
Notwithstanding  these  precautions,  we  did  not  receive  the 
least  intelligence  till  the  2d  of  January,  when  the  governor 
informed  me  that  nineteen  ships,  two  brigs  and  ten  sloops  and 
schooners  were  in  Warrasquiack  Bay,  and  were  getting  under 
way  to  proceed  up  the  river,  and  that  their  destination  was 
Petersburg.  I  directly  waited  on  the  governor  and  council, 
and  requested  four  thousand  militia  might  be  called  out,  esti- 
mating the  enemy's  force  at  twenty-five  hundred. 

"The  distressed  situation  of  the  Continental  troops  at 
Chesterfield  Court-house  would  only  permit  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them  to  be  ordered  out.  These  I  formed  into  a  bat- 
talion and  sent  to  Petersburg  to  cover  the  public  stores,  and 
at  the  same  time  sent  Colonel  Carrington  there  to  remove 
them.  I  also  took  proper  measures  for  the  removal  of  the 
stores  and  hospital  from  Chesterfield,  in  case  the  enemy  should 
move  that  wray. 

"The  next  day,  on  the  3d  of  January,  w^e  were  advised  of 
the  enemy's  arrival  off  Williamsburg,  where  General  Nelson 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  373 

had  collected  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia.  Here  a 
flag  was  sent  with  a  letter,  to  which  General  Nelson  returned 
a  verbal  answer,  that  he  would  defend  the  town.  They 
landed  a  few  troops  at  Jamestown,  but  reembarked  them 
again  immediately  and  proceeded  up  the  river.  At  midnight 
their  foremost  vessel  passed  Hood's,  where  we  had  a  battery 
of  two  iron  ten  pounders  and  a  brass  howitzer.  Three  shots 
were  "fired,  two  of  which  struck  the  vessel,  on  which  the  rest 
of  the  fleet  brought  to.  A  party  landing  below,  the  militia 
(about  seventy)  evacuated  the  battery,  and  the  cannon  and 
howitzer  fell  into  their  hands.  They  burnt  the  carriages  of 
the  guns  and  carried  off  the  howitzer. 

"  The  4th,  in  the  morning,  we  received  intelligence  that 
the  enemy's  fleet  lay  at  Westover,  and  were  preparing  to  dis- 
embark. It  was  then  evident  their  object  was  Richmond, 
and  orders  were  immediately  given  for  the  removal  of  the 
public  stores.  As  the  enemy  had  twenty-five  miles  to  march 
before  they  reached  the  town,  I  was  in  hopes  a  force  would 
collect  sufficient,  at  least,  to  check  their  progress,  but,  to  my 
surprise,  about  one  hundred  men  were  all  that  could  be  as- 
sembled. These  I  sent  down  under  the  command  of  Major 
Dick,  a  State  officer,  to  whom  I  gave  orders  to  harass  the  en- 
emy by  firing  at  them  from  every  favorable  piece  of  ground. 
These  orders  were,  however,  badly  executed.  The  enemy 
moved  that  evening  to  Four  Mile  Creek,  where  they  en- 
camped at  about  eleven  o'clock. 

"  What  few  Continental  stores  were  in  town  I  sent  out  to 
Westham,  having  previously  ordered  Major  Claiborne  up  the 
river  to  collect  boats  there  to  transport  them  across.  I  also 
ordered  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  Continental  troops  to  march 
from  Petersburg  and  take  a  position  opposite  to  Westham ; 
and  Colonel  Davies,  having  sent  all  the  stores  and  the  hospi- 
tal from  Chesterfield,  was  ordered  to  the  same  place  with  the 
remainder  of  his  naked  troops.  The  State  stores,  of  which 
great  quantities  were  in  town,  were  under  the  direction  of 


i> T4-  L  I  F  E      O  F      S  T  E  U  B  E  N  . 

Colonel  M.,  by  whose  inactivity  and  downright  negligence 
a  great  part  was  lost.  Of  their  artillery,  I  secured,  myselfj 
five  pieces  which  were  mounted  ;  the  rest,  consisting  of  three 
brass,  and  a  great  number  of  iron  pieces,  fell  into  the  enemy's 
hands.  Not  a  single  man,  except  those  I  had  sent  out,  under- 
took to  oppose  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  I  thought  it  pru- 
dent to  cross  the  river  in  the  evening,  and  took  my  quarters 
in  Manchester,  and  next  day,  about  twelve  o'clock,  the  enemy 
took  possession  of  the  town,  having  marched  twenty-five  miles 
with  eight  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  about  thirty  horse,  with- 
out receiving  a  single  shot.  They  left  about  half  their  force 
in  town,  and  proceeded  immediately  with  the  rest  to  West- 
ham,  where  they  burnt  all  the  public  buildings,  consisting  of 
a  foundery,  with  a  boring-mill,  powder  magazine,  and  some 
small  shops,  and  returned  to  Richmond  the  same  evening. 
The  Continental  stores  had  been  all  sent  across  the  river,  and 
some  of  the  State  stores.  What  part  was  left  I  have  not  yet 
learned.  About  three  hundred  militia  had  arrived  at  West- 
ham  on  their  way  down,  and  arms  were  actually  recrossing 
for  them,  but  hearing  of  the  enemy's  approach,  and  being  un- 
armed, they  dispersed. 

"  The  next  morning,  I  ordered  the  battalion  of  Continen- 
tal troops,  to  which  I  had  attached  two  of  the  State  pieces  of 
artillery,  to  Manchester,  where  there  were  about  two  hundred 
militia  collected.  With  these  I  intended  to  oppose  any  at- 
tempts they  might  make  to  cross.  They,  however,  did  not 
attempt  it,  but  about  eleven  o'clock  began  to  set  fire  to  the 
public  buildings,  and  before  one  o'clock,  had  entirely  quitted 
the  town.  They  burnt  a  rope-wralk,  the  public  work-shops  and 
two  or  three  public  stores.  Two  of  the  inhabitants  came  out 
with  propositions  from  Arnold  to  pay  for  half  of  the  tobacco 
on  their  giving  hostages  for  the  delivery  of  the  whole  to  ves- 
sels he  should  send  for  it.  The  governor  refused  to  agree  to 
it,  and  as  they  did  not  come  out  as  a  flag,  I  refused  their  re- 
turn.    The  tobacco,  howrever,  was  left  unhurt.     A  great  part 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  3*7  5 

of  the  inhabitants  having  removed,  their  houses  were  plun- 
dered by  the  soldiers.  The  enemy  marched  that  night  to 
their  former  position  at  Four  Mile  Creek,  where  they  en- 
camped, and  yesterday  got  to  Westover.  On  their  return, 
great  excesses  were  committed  by  straggling  parties.  As 
there  were  great  quantities  of  grain  and  flour  at  the  mills 
near  Warwick,  I  marched  my  little  force,  on  the  6th,  in  the 
evening,  to  that  place.  Yesterday  I  advanced  to  Osborn's, 
and  this  day  arrived  here  at  Petersburg.  I  find  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty  militia  here  under  Colonel  Gibson,  whom  I 
had  ordered  to  take  the  command  in  the  absence  of  Generals 
Muhlenberg  and  Weedon.  On  the  first  intimation  of  the  en- 
emy's approach,  I  wrote  these  gentlemen,  but  have  heard 
nothing  from  them.  The  public  stores,  of  which  great  quan- 
tities were  in  this  town,  were  all  removed  by  the  great  exer- 
tions of  Colonel  Carrington  and  Colonel  Gibson.  Yesterday 
General  Smallwood  arrived  here,  and  has  been  so  obliging  as 
to  stop  and  afford  us  his  assistance.  Some  vessels  of  the  en- 
emy were  sent  up  this  river  yesterday  to  take  or  destroy  some 
merchant  vessels  lying  there,  but  by  the  disposition  which  Gen- 
eral Smallwood  made  with  some  ship  guns  and  the  militia, 
they  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  enterprise. 

"  General  Nelson,  during  all  this  time,  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  On  the  3d,  he  was  twelve  miles  above  Wil- 
liamsburg, with  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  men  ;  the  next 
day  he  moved  four  miles  higher,  and  wrote  me  that  he  ex- 
pected to  have  three  hundred  and  fifty  militia  by  the  5th  at 
noon ;  the  7th,  he  wrrote  me  from  Long  Bridge,  on  Chicka- 
hominy,  that  the  enemy  were  moving  down  to  their  shipping, 
and  that  the  rain  the  preceding  night  had  incapacitated  his 
men  for  immediate  service.  In  fact,  the  enemy  returned  as 
they  went,  without  a  single  shot,  and  have  lain  quietly  at 
Westover,  in  a  scattered  manner,  all  this  day. 

"  As  the  stores  were  all  removed  hence,  and  a  consider- 
able force  of  militia  collected,  I  do  not  imagine  the  enemy 


376  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

will  attack  this  place.  I  have  some  hopes  of  being  able  to 
annoy  them  from  Hood's  on  their  return.  The  river  there 
is  very  narrow,  but  we  have  yet  no  guns.  I  have  sent  to  have 
those  which  are  there  remounted,  and  shall  march  there  my- 
self, with  all  the  militia  I  can  arm,  so  soon  as  I  hear  the  enemy 
are  moving  down. 

"  The  greatest  distress  we  now  feel  is  the  want  of  arms ; 
great  part  of  those  belonging  to  the  State  were  damaged  by 
the  militia  during  the  late  invasion,  or  were  scattered  at  differ- 
ent^ places  and  never  collected  or  repaired.  Those  at  Rich- 
mond were,  on  the  enemy's  approach,  sent  off  in  such  disorder 
that  part  of  them  are  not  yet  found.  The  militia  are  coming 
in,  and  no  arms  to  put  in  their  hands,  while,  on  the  other  side, 
General  Nelson  has  fifteen  hundred  stand,  and  only  five  hun- 
dred men. 

"  I  can  not  conclude  without  mentioning  how  much  I  am 
indebted  to  Colonel  Davies  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Carring- 
ton  for  their  assistance  on  this  occasion." 

"  The  enemy,"  continues  Steuben,"  at  camp  near  Hood's 
on  the  11th  of  January,  1781,*  "  lying  still  at  Westover  on  the 
9th,  and  some  vessels  which  had  lain  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ap- 
pomatox,  dropping  down  that  day  to  their  fleet,  I  thought  it 
evident  they  had  no  design  against  Petersburg,  and  therefore 
ordered  the  few  militia  who  were  assembled  there  to  march  to 
Prince  George  Court-house,  and  went  there  myself,  that  I  might 
be  more  at  hand  to  prepare  against  any  movement  of  the  ene- 
my. The  10th,  in  the  morning,  I  was  informed  they  were  em- 
barking their  troops,  and  on  reconnoitering  them  myself  from 
Coggin's  Point,  I  found  their  embarkation  completed,  and  the 
vessels  preparing  to  sail. 

"  It  had  been  found  impracticable  to  remount  the  cannon 

at  Hood's,  or  to  prepare  any  obstruction  to  their  passing  that 

place.     Of  this,  however,  the  enemy  were  ignorant ;  and  think- 

*  Greene's  MS.  Papers  and  Sparks's  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  iii., 
203. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  377 

ing  it  very  probable  they  would  land  a  party  to  examine  these 
works  before  they  attempted  to  pass,  I  ordered  three  hundred 
infantry  and  about  thirty  horse,  under  Colonel  Clark,  to  lie  in 
ambush  to  receive  them.  About  twelve  o'clock  the  fleet  got 
under  way,  and  at  four  o'clock  I  saw  them,  from  Hood's,  come 
to  within  cannon  shot.  At  dark  they  landed  troops  from 
eighteen  boats — deserters  say  five  hundred — who  immediately 
attacked  a  small  picket  we  had,  and  pursued  them  to  within 
forty  paces  of  the  ambuscade,  when  our  troops  gave  them  a 
fire  ;  but  on  their  returning  it,  and  charging  bayonets,  the 
militia  immediately  fled.  After  throwing  the  cannon  into  the 
river,  the  enemy  returned  to  their  ships,  which,  at  daylight, 
were  five  miles  below.  I  ordered  three  hundred  infantry  and 
two  troops  of  horse  down  to  Cabin  Point,  and  encamped  with 
the  remainder,  about  five  hundred  men,  at  this  place.  As  an 
attempt  might  be  made  at  Williamsburg,  and  as  General 
Nelson  had  only  four  hundred  men,  I  ordered  five  hundred 
and  sixty  militia,  who  were  then  on  their  way  to  join  me,  to 
cross  the  river  and  reinforce  him.  The  next  great  object  for 
the  enemy  being  Hunter's  works  and  the  stores  at  Fredericks- 
burg, I  wrote  the  governor  to  countermand  the  militia  from 
that  quarter.  General  Weld  on  had  already  advanced  with 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  as  far  as  Hanover  Court-house 
before  he  received  the  governor's  letter.  It  is  left  with  him 
to  return  or  not,  according  as  he,  from  his  knowledge  of  the 
force  that  can  he  collected,  may  think  necessary. 

"  I  can  not  yet  form  any  judgment  of  the  future  operations 
of  the  enemy.  Should  they  mean  to  pillage  Williamsburg, 
Nelson's  corps  may  harass,  but  can  not  prevent  them.  If 
they  take  possession  of  Norfolk,  I  shall  collect  what  force 
is  necessary  and  endeavor  to  keep  them  en  echec  ;  or  if  they 
should  go  into  the  Potomac,  I  shall  immediately  march  to 
form  a  junction  with  the  militia  under  General  Weedon,  and 
cover  Fredericksburg. 

"  The  militia  are  coming  in  from  all  quarters,  but  without 


378  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

arms,  for  which  they  apply  to  me.  I  have  delivered  about 
five  hundred  we  had  belonging  to  the  Continent.  Those  of 
the  State  were  so  scattered  in  removing  them  on  the  alarm, 
that  their  officers  can  not  collect  them  again.  The  troops  have 
neither  tents  nor  camp  kettles.  It  is  impossible  to  describe 
the  situation  I  am  in — in  want  of  every  thing ;  and  nothing  can 
be  got  from  the  State,  rather  for  want  of  arrangement  than 
anything  else." 

"  The  enemy,"  says  Steuben,  in  concluding  his  report  to 
the  board  of  war,  "having  passed  Hood's  on  the  13th,  I 
marched  with  seven  hundred  militia  to  Cabin  Point.  The 
Continental  troops  being  too  naked  to  keep  the  field,  were 
sent  back  to  Chesterfield  Court-house.  On  the  14th  the  ene- 
my landed  at  Hardy's  Ferry,  twenty-two  miles  below  Cabin 
Point,  and  began  their  march  toward  Smithfield.  Supposing 
Colonel  Parker,  with  the  militia  of  the  lower  counties,  would 
oppose  them  in  front,  I  detailed  Major  Willis  with  three  hun- 
dred infantry  and  fifty  horses  to  harass  their  rear.  My  orders 
were  badly  executed,  and  the  enemy  entered  Smithfield  on  the 
15th  without  opposition.  Having  that  day  received  a  rein- 
forcement of  four  hundred  men,  I  immediately  detached  them 
under  General  Lawson,  with  orders  to  march  towards  Smith- 
field,  and  act  in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Parker,  who,  I  sup- 
posed, had  retired  towards  Suffolk. 

"  On  General  Lawson's  approach  the  enemy  crossed  Xan- 
simond  river  at  Sleepy  Hole,  and  encamped  on  the  opposite 
bank,  and  General  Lawson  being  joined  by  the  troops  under 
Colonel  Parker,  occupied  Smithfield.  The  19th  the  enemy 
marched  to  Portsmouth,  where  Arnold  established  himself 
and  their  vessels  fell  down  to  Hampton  Roads." 

At  a  meeting  of  officers,  convened  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
termining the  question,  whether  the  Virginia  militia  had  the 
means  of  forcing  Arnold  to  quit  Portsmouth,  it  was  their  unani- 
mous opinion,  founded  on  their  acquaintance  with  the  ground, 
that  they  were  not  in  a  situation  to  undertuke  such  an  enter- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  379 

prise.  The  operations  of  Steuben  and  his  generals  were,  there- 
fore, necessarily  confined  to  preventing  the  enemy  from  mak- 
ing incursions  into  the  country  on  either  side  of  James  river, 
or,  should  they  undertake  to  come  out  with  their  whole  force, 
to  rendering  any  enterprise  of  theirs  difficult,  always  having 
in  view  the  keeping  open  the  communication  across  the  James 
river. 

To  secure  this  object  Steuben  repaired  to  Smithfield,  and 
having  reconnoitered  and  obtained  all  possible  information 
concerning  the  ground,  he  made  the  following  disposition,  in 
which  he  had  in  view  a  primary  object,  the  keeping  up  as  small 
a  number  of  militia  as  possible.* 

Colonel  Parker,  with  the  Suffolk  militia,  at  Reddock  Mills, 
a  very  strong  pass,  with  a  small  advanced  post  at  Cooper's 
Mills,  four  miles  in  his  front,  had  to  prevent  the  enemy's  par- 
ties from  making  any  excursions,  and,  if  forced,  to  fall  back  on 
General  Lawson.  General  Lawson  was  posted  at  McMay's 
Mills,  four  miles  from  Smithfield,  with  nine  hundred  infantry 
and  a  troop  of  State  horse ;  a  small  detachment  from  this  force 
advanced  to  Suffolk,  to  support  Parker  in  case  of  need,  and 
keep  open  communication.  Pickets  were  also  kept  at  Sleepy 
Hole  and  near  the  mouth  of  Nansimond  river.  General  Muh- 
lenberg was  at  Cabin  Point  with  two  regiments  consisting  of 
eight  hundred  infantry,  and  Armand's  cavalry ;  General  Nelson 
with  one  thousand  infantry,  and  some  volunteer  horse  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, to  keep  posts  from  thence  to  Newport  News. 

If  the  enemy  came  out  in  force,  General  Muhlenberg  was 
to  support  Lawson  and  form  a  junction  with  him,  and  oppose 
the  enemy  should  they  march  toward  South  Quay. 

The  correctness  of  the  foregoing  reports  of  Steuben,  little 
flattering  as  they  may  be,  is  established  by  the  statements  of 
persons  who  at  that  time  took  a  prominent  part  in  public 
affairs ;  and  it  is  also  proved,  that  however  glaring  the  defi- 

*  MS.  Letters  to  Greene  and  board  of  war,  Richmond,  January  25th  and 
29th,  1181. 


380  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ciencies  may  have  been,  however  culpable  the  shortcomings 
of  others  were,  Steuben  discharged  his  duties  to  the  utmost, 
and  where  he  could  not  remedy  the  defects  himself,  distinctly 
showed  others  how  they  might  advantageously  do  so.  A  few 
instances  will  suffice  to  demonstrate  the  condition  of  affairs. 

When  Arnold  ascended  the  river  and  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  Williamsburg,  General  Nelson,  who  was  so  destitute 
of  all  the  necessary  appliances  that  he  even  had  no  telescope, 
returned  a  verbal  answer,  stating  that  he  would  oppose  him 
as  long  as  he  had  a  man  to  fight,  and  apologizing  for  not  writ- 
ing, as  he  had  no  pen  and  ink.  It  is  unnecessary  to  mention 
that  the  militia's  arms  were  unfit  for  service,  and  the  little  am- 
munition they  had,  almost  destroyed,  as  it  was  at  that  time 
almost  a  matter  of  course.  Nelson  was  one  of  the  most  ener- 
getic and  patriotic  officers  in  the  State ;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  general  confusion  and  slowness  of  the  militia  he  could 
not  act  as  he  wished.  lie  could  form  no  communication  with 
Steuben,  nor  afford  him  the  necessary  assistance.  "  Our  ex- 
presses," he  writes,  on  the  4th  of  January,  to  Steuben,  "  be- 
have most  infamously ;  the  conduct  of  the  county  lieutenant 
of  New  Kent  is  censurable,  and  the  situation  of  this  country 
and  other  causes,  which  your  knowledge  of  our  affairs  will 
readily  suggest  to  you,  have  defeated  my  utmost  exertions." 

One  of  the  greatest  deficiencies  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  the  want  of  cavalry.  Armand's  corps,  the  only  cav- 
alry at  the  disposal  of  Steuben,  consisted  at  that  time  of  only 
forty  horses,  and  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  supply  even  it 
with  remounts.  In  spite  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  employ- 
ing that  corps  the  governor  did  nothing  in  the  matter,  giving 
as  a  reason,  that  the  executive  was  not  authorized  to  impress 
horses  for  the  Continental  service.  The  people  did  not  like  to 
sell  their  horses  on  credit,  and  preferred  to  keep  them  until 
they  were  afterwards  seized  by  the  British.  The  officer  whom 
Claiborne,  on  the  10th  of  January,  had  sent  out  to  impress 
horses,  returned  with  only  five.     Under  these  circumstances 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN,  381 

the  enemy,  with  his  one  hundred  horses,  had  even  a  superior- 
ity in  cavalry,  and  ravaged  the  country  unmolested.  This  want 
of  cavalry  during  the  whole  campaign  prevented  the  Ameri- 
cans not  only  from  harassing  the  enemy,  or  in  any  way  inter- 
fering with  their  operations,  but  from  striking  any  decisive 
blow  at  them,  as  will  hereafter  appear  from  the  narrative  of 
subsequent  events. 

"  I  was  pleased  to  see,"  writes  W.  Smallwood  to  Steuben, 
dated  Petersburg  on  the  7th  of  January,  "  that  Colonels  Gibson 
and  Carrington  had  accomplished  in  their  respective  depart- 
ment every  thing  that  circumstances  would  admit,  though  at 
the  same  time  I  lament  the  defenseless  situation  of  the  country 
at  this  alarming  crisis,  and  the  peculiar  difficulties  you  have 
to  encounter.  Perhaps  timely  and  vigorous  exertions  in  this 
quarter  might  prevent  or  suspend  the  enemy's  approach  here, 
which  would  have  a  salutary  effect  with  respect  to  the  public 
and  private  stores." 

As  if  the  invasion  of  the  country  were  a  misfortune  not 
sufficiently  great,  some  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Richmond 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  British, 
to  enrich  themselves  by  robbing  and  plundering,  and  forced 
the  officers  of  the  State  to  employ  their  men  for  the  protection 
of  the  public  property  against  the  native  population,  instead 
of  against  their  foreign  invaders. 

"  The  welfare  of  my  country,"  writes  the  brave  Claiborne 
to  Steuben,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1781,  dated  Richmond, 
u  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers  and  the  orders  of  my  superiors,  I 
have  ever  exerted  myself  to  promote  and  execute,  but  empty 
handed  as  I  am  at  present,  and  the  little  assistance  I  get,  al- 
most render  all  my  efforts  ineffectual.  There  is  no  commander 
here  nor  will  any  body  be  commanded.  This  leaves  what  pub- 
lic stores  a  few  of  the  virtuous  inhabitants  have  collected, 
exposed  to  every  passenger,  and  the  property  of  the  individ- 
uals to  the  ravages  of  the  negroes.  Both  public  and  private 
property  have  been  discovered  to  a  considerable  quantity,  that 


*<382  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

was  secreted  clandestinely  in  and  about  town,  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  there  is  a  stigma  which  rests  upon  the  conduct  of 
some  of  our  own  men  with  respect  to  the  pillaging  of  public 
and  private  goods,  that  does  not  upon  the  British  troops  ;  the 
one  acted  as  an  open  enemy,  but  the  other  in  a  secret  and  infa- 
mous manner.  I  shall  take  proper  measures  to  find  them  out 
and  have  them  collected.  I  had  a  party  of  the  militia  given 
me  by  Colonel  Haskins  and  patrolled  the  streets  of  Richmond 
during  the  night.  I  am  sorry  that  the  militia  differ  so  much 
from  the  Continental  soldiers !" 

Jefferson  appreciated  the  difficulty  of  the  situation  in  which 
Steuben  was  placed,  and  used  every  exertion  to  assist  him  in 
repelling  the  blackest  traitor  who  had  ever  disgraced  the 
American  history.  He  did  every  thing  that  Steuben  sug- 
gested for  the  benefit  of  the  service,  provided  subsistence  for 
the  troops,  and  contributed  to  carry  out  Steuben's  orders  as 
far  as  the  power  with  which  he  was  invested,  allowed.  At 
this  period  their  correspondence  manifests  mutual  confidence, 
good  will,  and  community  of  opinion,  and  though  the  limits 
of  their  respective  departments  and  relations  were  not  at  all 
regulated  or  distinctly  drawn,  they  found  no  difficulty  in  ar- 
ranging them. 

One  of  the  principal  items  of  controversy  was  the  ques- 
tion, what  expenses  were  to  be  considered  as  Continental  and 
what  as  belonging  to  the  separate  States  ?  Jefferson  under- 
stood that  the  rule  of  Congress  was  to  admit  no  expenses 
to  be  Continental  which  were  incurred  by  any  State  merely 
under  an  apprehension  of  an  invasion,  but  that  when  a  State 
was  actually  invaded,  all  expenses  became  Continental.  Con- 
sequently he  wished  Steuben  to  consider  the  militia  of  every 
place  under  his  command  from  the  moment  of  their  being 
enlisted,  and  to  direct  their  movements  and  stations  as  he 
pleased.  "  This,"  remarks  Steuben,  in  a  letter  to  Jefferson, 
dated  the  11th  of  January,  1781,  "naturally  throws  the  pro- 
vision for  such  troops  as  shall  be  employed  on  such  particular 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  383 

occasion  into  the  hands  of  Continental  officers  upon  the  great 
scale  ;  but  as  it  would  be  impracticable  for  those  officers  to  take 
up  the  business  before  it  is  brought  within  the  view  of  those 
under  whom  they  are  acting  and  whose  orders  they  are  bound 
to  obey,  it  certainly  must  of  necessity  be  incumbent  on  the 
State  officers  to  bring  it  to  that  point  from  which  it  will  regu- 
larly be  taken  up  by  the  Continental  officers.  I  think  that 
this  might  take  place  from  the  time  the  troops  are  armed, 
fitted  for  the  field  and  brought  to  the  place  of  rendezvous ; 
then  the  general  commanding  has  charge  of  them  as  a  part  of 
his  force,  and  at  the  same  time  all  his  subordinate  officers,  both 
military  and  staff,  have  them  under  their  view.  As  the  arms 
to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  militia  are  the  property  of  the 
State  and  subject  to  the  direction  of  officers  not  under  my 
command,  I  do  not  conceive  those  troops  connected  with  me 
or  subject  to  my  orders  before  they  are  armed  and  equipped 
for  the  field." 

Jefferson,  although  he  could  not  state  the  exact  time  at 
which  the  expenses  attending  an  invasion  became  Continental, 
nevertheless,  maintained  that  the  militia,  as  soon  as  they  had 
received  their  call,  were  subject  to  Steuben's  orders. 

This  difference  of  opinion  existing  between  the  general 
commanding  and  the  governor,  was  a  great  drawback  to  the 
State  itself  and  to  the  progress  of  the  whole  southern  war. 
Steuben  only  executed  the  design  of  Congress  and  acted  in 
accordance  with  its  special  orders,  when  he  asked  of  the  State 
to  deliver  to  him,  at  its  own  expense,  the  militiamen,  fit  for 
service  and  properly  equipped.  It  was,  however,  the  interest 
of  the  State  to  keep  up  such  a  difference  of  opinion,  as  thus 
no  immediate  efforts  were  needed  and  no  sacrifices  were  to  be 
made.  Owing  to  the  constant  disorder,  things  were  advanced 
so  far  in  Virginia,  that  the  people  only  looked  to  their  own 
safety,  and  cared  nothing  about  the  evil  consequence  of  such 
a  policy  to  the  United  States,  and  especially  to  the  South.  As 
Congress  had  not   the  means  of  enforcing  its  decrees,  but 


384  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

on  the  contrary  depended  for  the  execution  of  them  entirely 
on  the  good  will  of  the  individual  States,  it  was  Virginia  which 
remained  in  the  right.  Steuben  had  to  suffer  the  worst  con- 
sequences from  this  want  of  help,  which  the  State  would  not 
or  could  not  afford.  Moreover,  the  Continent  did  not  aid  him, 
and  always  directed  him  in  an  off-hand  manner  to  the  State. 

The  governor,  in  his  account  of  the  invasion  which  he  sent 
to  Washington  on  the  10th  of  January,  1781,  speaks  in  very 
high  terms  of  Steuben's  merits.  When,  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  latter  himself,  he  said  that  he  was  very  sorry  that  the 
means  with  which  he  was  furnished  were  not  likely  to  add  to 
his  reputation,  except  that  by  undertaking  to  make  the  most 
of  them  Steuben's  zeal  would  be  still  more  fully  displayed, 
Jefferson  wrote  to  Washington  in  the  following  terms  about 
him  :* 

"In  the  meanwhile  Baron  Steuben,  a  zealous  friend,  has 
descended  from  the  dignity  of  his  proper  command,  to  direct 
our  smallest  movements.  His  vigilance  has,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, supplied  the  want  of  force  in  preventing  the  enemy  from 
crossing  the  river,  which  might  have  been  very  fatal.  He  has 
been  assiduously  employed  in  preparing  for  the  militia,  as  they 
should  assemble,  pointing  them  to  a  proper  object,  and  other 
offices  of  a  good  commander." 

"  I  congratulate  you,"  writes  Colonel  William  Da-vies,  at  this 
time,  to  Steuben, f  "upon  the  enemy's  leaving  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  hope,  sir,  you  may  never  again  experience  the 
mortifications  which  the  very  destitute  and  unprepared  state 
of  this  country  must  have  occasioned.  The  nakedness  of  the 
troops  at  this  place  (Chesterfield  Court-house)  exceeds  descrip- 
tion. Above  sixty  of  them  are  so  naked  as  to  be  unable  to  do 
duty  in  quarters,  and  much  more  so  in  the  field.  To  all  such 
who  live  within  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  this  place,  and  can  return 
in  eight  or  ten  days,  I  have  given  furloughs  for  the  purpose 

*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  by  J.  Sparks,  iii.,  202. 
f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  iv. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  385 

of  getting  clothing.  The  troops  here  have  been  one  day  en- 
tirely out  of  meat,  and  without  particular  care  I  fear  they  will 
be  distressed  frequently  for  that  article.  I  shall  endeavor  as 
well  as  I  can  to  secure  a  sufficiency,  but  every  thing  in  this 
country  seems  in  so  ruinous  a  train,  that  despondency  has 
almost  taken  possession  of  me.  I  hope  your  exertions  and  in- 
fluence will  in  some  measure  check  the  rapidity  with  which 
we  are  rushing  to  ruin  ;  but  something  extraordinary  must 
happen  to  put  us  on  a  good  footing." 

"  Arnold,  you  know,  was  coming  here,"  writes  Colonel 
Meade  to  Alexander  Hamilton  on  the  13th  of  January,  1781.* 
"  He  has  really  been  here,  and,  with  shame  be  it  said,  marched 
twenty-five  miles  and  back  without  having  a  single  musket 
fired  at  him  ;  but  let  me  observe,  in  justice  to  the  people  at 
large,  that  there  are  fewer  disaffected  by  far  in  this  State  than 
any  other  in  the  Union,  and  that  the  people  turn  out  with  the 
utmost  cheerfulness.  The  misfortune  on  the  present  invasion 
was,  that  in  the  confusion  the  arms  were  sent  everywhere,  and 
no  timely  plan  laid  to  put  them  into  the  hands  of  the  men  who 
were  assembling.  The  baron  has  no  doubt  given  the  general 
the  particulars  of  the  whole  affair.  He  can  hardly  be  himself 
and  say  any  thing  on  the  subject  that  ought  not  to  be  credited." 

"  I  am  still  unable,"  writes  James  Lovell  to  Steuben  on  the 
22d  of  January,  1781, f  "to  promise  you  a  supply  of  arms  and 
clothing.  But  I  can  not  refrain  from  expressing  to  you,  by  this 
opportunity,  how  much  I  am  affected  with  pleasure  by  any 
occurrence  which  redounds  to  your  glory.  The  Governor  of 
Virginia  mentions  very  honorably  your  conduct  with  a  small 
body  of  militia,  of  which  you  have  condescended  to  take  the 
command,  while  a  traitorous  villain  was  striving  to  make  ex- 
tensive ravage  on  James  river.  Your  own  letters  to  Congress 
have  confirmed  the  propriety  of  the  governor's  grateful  senti- 
ments.    I  would  to  God  you  wrere  at  the  head  of  a  body  suit- 

*  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  i.,  208. 
f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  iv. 
17 


386  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ably  equipped  to  execute  the  directions  which  your  great 
military  knowledge  enables  you  to  give  whenever  you  are  in 
a  field  action.  I  regret  much  the  mortification  which  I  know 
your  warm  zeal  in  our  cause  must  have  met  with  from  your 
inequality  of  men,  artillery  and,  in  short,  every  means  of 
giving  a  final  blow  to  Arnold's  schemes.  I  regret  more,  that 
you  have  no  prospect  but  the  continuance  of  such  disadvan- 
tages. The  chapter  of  disadvantages  has  heretofore  been 
greatly  in  our  favor." 

Unfortunately  it  was  far  from  being  closed,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Arnold's  Invasion  interrupts  the  Measures  for  the  Support  of  the  Southern 
Army.— Steuben's  Task. — Its  Difficulties. — The  Government  does  Little  or 
Nothing. — Jefferson  and  Steuben.— Their  Conflict.— Steuben  tries  to  raise 
three  Thousand  Recruits  to  be  furnished  by  the  State. — They  arrive  very 
slowly.— Characteristic  Anecdote.— Good  Effect  of  Steuben's  Severity.— 
Bad  Conduct  of  the  Militia.— Letter  of  E.  Meade. — Complaints  of  Innes  and 
Muhlenberg.— The  Desertion  tolerated  and  protected  by  the  State.— Rea- 
sons why.— Davies's  Propositions  for  remedying  this  Evil.— The  apathetic 
People  make  no  Sacrifices.— Claiborne's  Complaints.— Want  of  Necessaries. 
— Government  does  not  resort  to  energetic  Measures. — All  Burden  and 
Responsibility  fall  on  Steuben.— Colonel  Mumford's  punishable  Negli- 
gence.—Steuben's  Orders  against  squandering  Provisions. — Greene  appreci- 
ates Steuben's  Efforts.— Greene's  Operations  in  the  South  after  his  Depart- 
uss  from  Virginia.— He  divides  his  Forces  and  separates  from  Morgan.— 
Morgan's  Victory  at  Co wpens.— Greene  advances  to  the  Great  Pedee.— -Corn- 

WALLIS   FOLLOWS   HIM.— GREENE   JOINS   MORGAN    AGAIN.— He   RETIRES   TO   VIRGINIA. 

— cornwalli8  at  hillsborough,  the  center  of  the  tories.— their  enthusiasm 
for  the  royal  cause. — greene  beaten  at  guilford  court-house. — corn- 
wallis  goes  to  wilmington.— greene's  difficulty  with  the  virginia  mllitia. 
—Steuben  tries  in  vain  to  assist  him.— He  dispatches  a  Detachment  under 
Campbell.— Steuben's  Designs  for  the  further  Support  of  Greene.— He  can 
not  fulfill  his  Promise,  as  the  Recruits  do  not  arrive. 

rpHE  greatest  mischief  occasioned  by  Arnold's  invasion,  was 
-*-  the  obstruction  which  it  offered  to  the  preparations  for  the 
support  of  the  southern  army.  The  arrangements  which  Steu- 
ben was  making  for  this  purpose  were  either  wholly  over- 
turned or  materially  delayed,  the  greater  part  of  the  provis- 
ions oonsumed,  and  the  raising  of  recruits  and  every  supply 
required  liwx  Virginia  was  retarded  for  two  months.  What- 
ever arms  the  St**^  possessed  were  distributed  among  the 
militia,  who  scarcely  amoved  to  four  thousand  men. 

While  the  forces  under  MttMenberg  were  watching  and 
confining  Arnold  at  Portsmouth,  Steuv«n  exerted  himself  at 
Richmond  to  collect  provisions,  arms  and  tn^n  for  tne  rein- 
forcement of  Greene's  army,  which,  for  want  of  the  ~-Xpeeted 
supplies,  was  in  the  most  distressed  situation.     The  task  ,^s 


388  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

certainly  a  most  arduous  one,  as  he  could  do  little  or  nothing 
if  not  supported  by  the  Executive  of  the  State. 

"  Sure  am  I,"  said  he,  "  if  an  officer  ordered  to  superintend 
and  expedite  militia  movements  does  not  in  that  service  lose 
his  reputation,  he  may  risk  it  on  all  other  occasions."  u  I  must 
beg  your  Excellency,"  he  wrote  at  this  time  to  Governor  Jef- 
ferson, "  to  consider  that  this  shameful  opposition  made  to  the 
last  invasion  of  the  enemy  falls  in  some  measure  on  me  as  the 
commanding  officer  in  the  State,  and  I  can  not  but  reckon  it 
among  my  misfortunes  to  have  been  here  at  that  time.  My 
wish  is  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  disgrace,  but  I  can  do 
nothing  without  the  assistance  of  the  government." 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  latter  had  not  the  power  to 
do  what  it  considered  to  be  its  duty,  and  that  it  was  jealous 
of  the  authority  exercised  by  the  commanding  general.  It  is 
really  surprising  that  a  conflict  between  the  civil  and  military 
officers  did  not  break  out  sooner,  as  the  ground  was  prepared 
for  such  a  calamity  from  the  moment  they  entered  on  the  dis- 
charge of  their  respective  duties,  and  as  the  often  high-handed, 
though  well-intentioned  proceedings  of  Steuben,  and  the  irri- 
tability of  his  temper  frequently  broug'ht  him  in  collision  with 
the  too  keen  democratic  views  of  Governor  Jefferson. 

"  We  did  not  think  proper,"  writes  Jefferson,  on  the  10th 
of  March,  1781,  to  Steuben,*  "to  resign  ourselves  and  our 
country  too  implicitly  to  your  demands,  but  thought  we  had 

some  right  of  judgment  left  to  ourselves We  can  only 

be  answerable  for  the  orders  we  give,  and  not  for  their  execu- 
tion. If  they  are  disobeyed  from  obstinacy  of  spy***  or  want 
of  coercion  in  the  laws,  it  is  not  our  fault-  We  can  only  en- 
deavor to  engage  the  willing.  The  "Executive  have  not  by  the 
laws  of  this  State  any  power  ^  call  a  freeman  to  labor  even 
for  the  public  good  wifjA°ut  ms  consent,  nor  a  slave  without 
that  of  his  mas<-~-'? 

This  ?*  a  inking  illustration  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  law 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  vi. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  389 

as  it  existed  in  cases  of  public  emergency  or  danger.  If  the 
governor's  power  was  insufficient  to  enforce  service  for  the 
protection  of  the  fatherland,  and  for  the  due  observance  of  the 
orders  he  issued,  what  was  the  utility  of  his  position  ?  Was 
it  not  a  clog  on  the  efficiency  of  the  military  power,  which 
was  exercised  only  for  the  good  of  the  confederacy  ? 

Steuben's  first  object  was  to  raise  the  three  thousand 
(eighteen  months')  militiamen,  whom,  according  to  the  new 
plan,  the  State  had  promised  to  provide.  Virginia  was  for 
this  purpose  divided  into  ten  divisions,  each  of  which  had  to 
furnish  its  quota,  and  send  them  to  the  general  rendezvous  at 
Chesterfield  Court-house,  where  Colonel  Davies  commanded, 
and  formed  the  detachments  for  the  southern  army.  But  in 
raising  recruits,  the  State  was  completely  lethargic.  On  the 
12th  of  February  not  a  man  had  been  engaged  on  the  new 
plan,  and  with  the  greatest  difficulty  four  hundred  men  had 
been  collected  and  clothed  at  Chesterfield  Court-house  to  be 
sent  to  the  South.  The  men  either  came  in  very  slowly,  or 
did  not  come  at  all,  or  they  deserted  immediately  after  their 
arrival  in  camp,  or  they  sent  even  dwarfs  or  children  to  fill 
their  places.  On  the  4th  of  March  Steuben  remonstrated  to 
the  governor  in  regard  to  this  ill-disposed  people,  who  sent 
recruits  entirely  unfit  for  service,  whom  he  could  not  accept 
for  the  defense  of  their  own  country. 

If,  under  such  circumstances,  Steuben  gave  way  to  passion, 
and  uttered  contemptuous  expressions,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  North,  in  his  already-quoted  pamphlet,  mentions  a  char- 
acteristic anecdote  in  this  respect.  "  Men,"  says  he,  "  sufficient 
to  form  a  regiment  had,  with  much  pains,  been  collected  to- 
gether at  Chesterfield  Court-house.  The  corps  was  paraded, 
and  on  the  point  of  marching,  when  a  well-looking  man,  on 
horseback,  and,  as  it  appeared,  his  servant  on  another,  rode 
up,  and  introducing  himself,  informed  the  baron  that  he  had 
brought  him  a  recruit.  '  I  thank  you,  sir,'  said  the  baron, 
4  with  all  my  heart ;    you  have  arrived  in  a  happy  moment ! 


390  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

Where  is  your  man,  colonel  ?'  for  he  was  colonel  in  the  mili- 
tia. '  Here,  sir,'  ordering  his  boy  to  dismount.  The  baron's 
countenance  altered ;  we  saw  and  feared  the  approaching  storm. 
A  sergeant  was  ordered  to  measure  the  lad,  whose  shoes,  when 
off,  laid  bare  something  by  which  his  stature  had  been  increased. 
The  baron,  patting  the  child's  head  with  his  hand,  trembling 
with  rage,  asked  him  how  old  he  was.  He  was  very  young, 
quite  a  child.  i  Sir,'  said  he  to  the  man,  '  you  must  have  sup- 
posed me  to  be  a  rascal !'  '  O  no,  baron,  I  did  not.'  *  Then, 
sir,  I  suppose  you  to  be  a  rascal,  an  infamous  rascal,  thus  to 
attempt  to  cheat  your  country.  Take  off  this  fellow's  spurs  ; 
place  him  in  the  ranks,  and  tell  General  Greene  from  me,  Col- 
onel Gaskins,  that  I  have  sent  him  a  man  able  to  serve,  in- 
stead of  an  infant  whom  he  would  basely  have  made  his  sub- 
stitute !  Go,  my  boy,  take  the  colonel's  spurs  and  his  horse 
to  his  wife ;  make  my  compliments,  and  say  her  husband  has 
gone  to  light  for  the  freedom  of  his  country,  as  an  honest  man 
should  do.  By  platoons  ! — To  the  right  wheel ! — Forward — 
March  !'  Colonel  Gaskins  fearing  the  consequences,  let  the 
man  escape  on  the  arrival  of  the  corps  at  the  river  Roanoke  ; 
nor  was  he  tardy  in  returning  and  making  application  to  the 
civil  authority  for  redress.  But  Governor  Jefferson,  Mr.  Mad- 
ison, and  other  gentlemen  of  the  council,  not  doubting  the 
purity  of  the  baron's  motive,  and  fully  appreciating  his  hon- 
est zeal,  prevented  any  disagreeable  results  attending  this  high- 
handed exertion  of  military  power." 

In  regard  to  the  service,  these  despotic  proceedings  had  at 
least  one  good  effect,  as  Davies  writing  on  the  10th  of  March, 
1781,  states  that  "since  the  treatment  that  men  met  with, 
people  seemed  afraid  to  bring  in  the  dwarfs  and  children  they 
formerly  counted  upon." 

In  some  parts  of  the  State  young  men  who  were  entirely 
fit  for  service,  did  not  answer  the  call,  excusing  themselves  on 
the  ground  of  having  previously  served  a  few  days,  because, 
according  to  the  militia  laws,  they  could  not  be  called  out 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  391 

again  after  having  once  been  discharged.  On  the  other  hand, 
by  a  law  of  the  State,  no  county  was  obliged  to  draft  men  for 
the  Continental  lines  while  its  militia  were  in  actual  service. 
Thus  it  happened  that  well  populated  counties  as,  for  instance, 
Spottsylvania,  the  militia  of  which,  during  the  last  invasion, 
had  been  under  arms  for  only  a  week  or  two,  on  the  1st  of 
April,  1781,  had  sent  only  twenty-three  recruits,  while  the 
government  had  fixed  its  contingent  at  ten  times  that  num- 
ber. The  militia  proved  to  be  of  damage  and  disrepute  to 
the  State  rather  than  of  honor  and  advantage.  Their  conduct 
was  extremely  loose  and  provoking.  Complaints  were  contin- 
ually made  from  all  parts  of  the  State  against  them,  and  be- 
came from  day  to  day  louder  and  more  frequent. 

"  I  have  experienced,"  writes  E.  Meade,  from  camp  at 
Edmond's  Hill,  on  the  19th  of  March,  "  a  disagreeable  want 
of  duty  here — a  tine  field  of  dishonor ;  no  reliance  can  be  put 
in  the  major  part  of  the  militia ;  my  feelings  have  been  ex- 
ceedingly hurt." 

"  I  have  received,"  says  Jefferson  himself  on  the  24th  of 
February,*  in  a  letter  to  Steuben,  "  repeated  information  that 
the  nakedness  of  the  militia  on  service  near  Williamsburg,  and 
want  of  shoes,  is  such  as  to  have  produced  murmurings  almost 
amounting  to  mutiny,  and  that  there  is  no  hope  of  being  able 
longer  to  keep  them  in  service.  The  precedent  of  an  actual 
mutiny  would  be  so  mischievous  as  to  induce  us  to  believe  an 
accommodation  to  their  present  temper  most  prudent."  And 
at  another  occasion,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1781,  \  "We  have 
found,  by  experience,  that  the  men  of  those  counties  where 
the  enemy  are,  can  not  be  kept  in  the  field — they  desert  and 
carry  off  their  arms." 

Colonel  Innes  reports  from  York  on  the  11th  ofMarch,| 
"  that  he  has  no  provisions  for  the  next  day,  and  that  the 
militia,  already  dissatisfied,  wants  only  a  good  plea  for  mutiny 
and  desertion." 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  v.        f  Ibidem,  vol.  vi.         %  Ibidem,  vol.  vi. 


392  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

Major  Fosey  informs  Steuben,  from  Stanton,  on  the  8th  01 
March,  "  that  not  a  single  man  could  be  raised  in  the  county  of 
Augusta,  which  had  to  furnish  three  hundred  and  forty-four 
men,  that  they  had  remonstrated  to  the  Legislature  against  the 
measure  of  drafting  for  eighteen  months,  and  begged  that  the 
term  of  three  months  be  substituted." 

The  militia  already  under  arms  did  not  behave  much  better. 
We  have,  in  this  respect,  Muhlenberg's  interesting  statement 
of  the  8th  of  April,  1781,  in  which  he  says:*  "The  militia 
who  have  served  their  term  of  three  months  have  partly  dis- 
charged themselves,  and  compel  me  to  discharge  the  remain- 
der. I  tried  every  method  in  my  power  to  prevail  on  them 
to  continue  until  I  could  be  reinforced  from  some  other  quar- 
ters, but  in  vain.  About  one  hundred  deserted  within  two 
nights  out  of  my  camp,  and  this  morning  about  one  hundred 
out  of  Colonel  Duncan's  regiment,  stationed  at  Chackatuck, 
stacked  their  arms  and  marched  off.  The  remainder  marched 
to  camp  with  their  arms  and  accouterments,  and  now  claim 
their  discharge,  which  I  shall  be  compelled  to  grant  them,  as 
their  stay  will  ruin  the  few  troops  I  have  left." 

Among  the  innumerable  complaints  against  the  militia  we 
have  found,  however,  one  letter  which  does  not  blame  them ; 
but  even  in  this  instance  the  praise  resembles  a  strong  repro- 
bation. Captain  A.  Singleton,  speaking  of  an  engagement  of 
General  Greene's  army  on  the  15th  of  March,  1781,  says,  that 
"  the  militia,  contrary  to  custom,  behaved  well  for  militia." 

The  greatest  annoyance,  however,  and  detriment  to  the 
service  was  the  wholesale  desertion  of  the  militia.  The  tolera- 
tion, and  even  protection,  with  which  it  met  through  the  State, 
was  so  dangerous  and  alarming  a  mischief  that  Steuben  and 
Davies  took  every  measure  in  their  power  to  stop  it,  and  to 
recover  those  who  were  already  gone.  They  drew  memorials 
upon  this  subject,  which  were  laid  before  the  Assembly,  and 
wrote  to  the  governor,  asking  that  laws  might  be  made  to 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  vi. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  393 

remedy  the  evil.  "  I  am  just  completing,"  writes  Da  vies  to 
Steuben  from  Chesterfield,  on  the  10th  of  March,  1781,*  "the 
descriptive  list  of  deserters  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  dele- 
gates. This  I  conceive  to  be  a  matter  of  great  consequence. 
Above  two  hundred  have  deserted  from  this  place,  at  least  five 
hundred  that  were  enlisted  in  the  counties  never  joined  the 
army,  and  they  are  daily  deserting  from  different  places,  and 
not  a  single  measure  is  yet  taken  to  advertise  them.  Colonel 
Campbell  has  sent  me  a  list  of  a  number  who  have  deserted 
from  him.  I  mean,  therefore,  to  have  a  descriptive,  alphabet- 
ical list  printed  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  and  to  put 
three  or  four  copies  in  the  hands  of  each  Assemblyman,  to  be 
published  and  advertised  at  the  court-houses,  churches,  and 
other  places  of  public  resort.  But  I  submit  the  matter  to  your 
decision." 

All  these  steps,  however,  and  the  remonstrances  were  in 
vain,  since  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  the  government  to  alter 
this  anomalous  and  revolting  state  of  things,  to  which  we  find 
a  clue  in  a  letter  of  Davies,  written  ten  days  after  the  above 
quoted,  which  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  documents  of  the 
time,  and  on  more  than  one  account  deserves  to  be  given  in 
full. 

"  I  find,  notwithstanding,"  writes  Davies,  "  every  thing 
that  has  been  urged  formerly,  no  summary  mode  is  yet  estab- 
lished by  the  Assembly  for  the  recovery  of  the  bounties  the 
divisions  detain  from  the  substitutes  they  agree  with.  They 
bargain  with  a  man  for  six  or  seven  thousand  pounds,  pay 
him  at  the  time  one  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred, f  and  prom- 
ise him  the  remainder  in  two  or  three  months.  The  soldier 
inquires  how  it  is  to  be  got ;  they  tell  him  he  is  to  have  a  fur- 
lough after  he  gets  here,  or  if  he  does  not  get  one,  they  will 
send  or  bring  him  the  money.     When  the  poor  fellow  arrives 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  vi. 

f  Paper  money  of  course,  the  relation  of  silver  to  paper  being  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  to  one  hundred  and  forty  at  this  time. 

17* 


394  LIFE     OE     STEUBEN. 

here  he  applies  for  a  furlough  and  is  refused  :  the  divisions 
never  send  him  his  money,  he  soon  spends  all  he  has,  draws 
no  pay,  and  perhaps  no  clothing,  and  finding  in  the  midst  of 
his  distresses,  that  although  he  has  a  great  deal  of  money  due 
him,  yet  he  never  shall  get  a  copper  of  it  while  he  continues 
with  the  troops ;  he,  therefore,  deserts  with  a  determination 
to  try  to  get  it  from  his  division.  When  he  applies  to  them 
they  refuse  to  pay  him  a  farthing,  tell  him  he  is  a  deserter ; 
but  for  their  own  sake  they  tolerate  and  even  encourage  him 
in  his  desertion,  as  by  that  means  they  save  the  remainder  of 
the  bounty  in  their  own  pockets  and  evade  any  further  de- 
mands in  the  law  too.  The  rest  of  the  people  in  the  country 
think  it  would  be  very  hard  to  apprehend  the  man  as  a  de- 
serter and  bring  him  to  his  officers,  who  probably  will  punish 
him,  when  he  did  not  get  half  his  bounty ;  and  having  no  author- 
ity themselves  to  compel  the  division  to  make  up  the  remainder 
that  is  due,  of  course  the  whole  matter  is  overlooked,  and  be- 
tween fraud  on  one  side  and  compassion  on  the  other,  the  pub- 
lic service  is  essentially  injured.  If  some  speedy  check  is  not 
put  to  this  growing  evil,  every  law  that  is  passed  in  future  for 
raising  men,  will  produce  two  deserters  for  one  soldier,  till  the 
numbers  of  the  former  will  be  too  considerable  to  be  controlled, 
and  the  people  at  large  will  be  entirely  wearied  out  by  the  fre- 
quent drafts  that  are  called  for  to  make  up  the  deficiencies. 
The  only  source,  therefore,  from  which  we  can  hope  any  relief, 
is  in  the  particular  interest  of  each  respective  division.  The 
advantage  of  the  public  at  large  is  too  remote  an  object  to 
make  such  impression  ;  it  must  be  more  immediately  interest- 
ing to  make  them  feel.  I  would,  therefore,  propose  that  every 
division  shall  be  answerable  for  the  conduct  of  its  substitute 
in  this  particular,  but  I  would  confine  this  responsibility  to  de- 
sertion only ;  all  other  deficiencies  in  the  number  of  men  should 
be  made  good  by  the  State  at  large." 

In  the  presence  of  all  these  difficulties  the  government, 
however,  did  not  dare  to  resort  to  energetic  measures.     In- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  395 

stead  of  removing  the  existing  and  menacing  impediments, 
the  government  only  evaded  them  and  made  no  arrangements 
to  complete  the  Continental  forces.  In  a  similar  manner  it 
treated  the  militia,  confining  itself  to  the  least  possible  exac- 
tions. Thus  the  governor  wrote  to  Steuben,  on  the  19th  of 
April,  1781,  "that  he  should  only  endeavor  to  get  the  militia 
to  the  fixed  term  of  two  months  in  the  field,  with  a  right  to 
retain  them  one  week  longer,  if  reliefs  should  not  come  in." 

It  was  not  this  deficiency  in  the  militia  alone  that  troubled 
Steuben,  and  prevented  him  from  supporting  the  southern 
army.  The  measures  taken  by  the  government  for  the  defense 
of  the  State  were  so  imperfect,  that  they  threw  innumerable 
and  unforeseen  obstacles  in  his  way,  and  that  other  able  offi- 
cers retired  from  the  service  in  disgust.  The  State  had  no 
money,  no  credit,  no  provision,  in  short,  it  was  almost  desti- 
tute. R.  Claiborne,  the  quarter-master  of  the  State,  wrote 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1781,*  to  Steuben,  that  he  was  unable 
to  comply  with  his  demands  for  accouterments,  wagons,  and 
camp  equipage  for  five  hundred  infantry,  saying  that  he  had 
not  a  farthing  of  money.  "To  purchase  by  contract,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  is  impracticable,  as  there  is  not  a  person  that  will 
trust  the  public  two  days ;  and  to  make  and  manufacture  in 
time,  would  be  a  vain  attempt.  My  representations  to  the 
quarter-master  general  and  the  government  of  this  State,  have 
been  early  and  frequent ;  but  little  or  no  aid  is  given  to  me. 
I  have  received  only  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  paper 
money  since  I  have  been  in  this  department,  which,  at  one 
hundred  and  forty  for  one,  went  but  a  small  way.  I  am  alto- 
gether disappointed  in  the  wagons  that  are  to  come  from  the 
counties  for  Continental  use,  and  have  failed  in  the  means  of 
transportation  directed  in  the  governor's  instructions  some 
time  since,  to  the  commissioner  of  the  provision  law.  The 
commissary  of  hides  for  this  State,  upon  whom  I  am  depend- 
ent alone  for  leather,  is  in  Philadelphia,  and  has  not  a  gallon 
*  Stenbon  MR.  Papors,  vol.  vii. 


396  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

of  oil  in  his  whole  department.  This  has  been  the  case  for  a 
long  time,  and  whether  it  will  be  taken  into  consideration  by 
the  board  of  war,  from  whom  he  derives  his  appointment,  I 
can  not  say.  I  have  written  to  the  qnarter-master  general 
npon  the  subject.  With  respect  to  wagons,  I  have  not  one 
that  is  not  employed  in  business  that  can  not  be  dispensed 
with ;  and  the  horses  that  are  not  engaged  are  such  as  no  one 
would  employ.  To  hire  is  impossible,  as  no  one  will  take  the 
price  to  which  we  are  limited,  when  they  can  get  three  times 
as  much  from  private  individuals.  I  am  very  fearful  that  noth- 
ing can  be  done  in  laying  up  a  magazine  of  forage  at  Peters- 
burg. Camp  equipage  you  will  find  we  have  none.  In  short, 
sir,  I  have  no  money,  no  materials,  no  credit,  and  beg  while 
this  is  my  situation,  you  will  place  no  dependence  on  any  thing 
to  come  from  the  department.  Sensible  of  the  increasing  diffi- 
culties in  transacting  the  public  business,  I  find  myself  obliged 
to  resign.  I  was  in  hopes,  when  I  accepted  the  appointment, 
that  it  would  be  in  my  power  to  discharge  the  duties ;  but  as 
I  am  not  supported  in  the  purchasing  department,  I  could  not 
expect  it  in  the  field.  As  to  my  influencing  the  field  duties, 
I  am  preparing  such  instructions  as  will  be  necessary.  If  it  is 
for  me  to  do,  I  beg  leave  to  remind  you  that  I  have  nothing 
to  begin  with,  neither  people,  money,  credit  nor  materials,  so 
that  if  I  fail,  I  hope  you  will  attribute  it  to  its  true  cause — 
want  of  means." 

This  state  of  things,  animadverted  upon  by  Claiborne,  had 
not  only  reference  to  his  department,  but  was  to  be  met  writh 
throughout  the  whole  State.  Coats  could  not  be  made  for 
want  of  cloth,  shoes  could  not  be  obtained  for  want  of  leather, 
and  shirts  were  not  to  be  had  for  want  of  linen,  nor  would 
tailors  or  artificers  work  on  trust  for  the  country.  Even  Jef- 
ferson declared  the  procuring  of  hats  or  leather  caps  a  despe- 
rate case,  and  blankets  cost  too  much  to  be  able  to  provide 
the  troops  with  them.  The  factories  were  partly  stopped  for 
want  of  money,  partly  from  the  refusal  of  the  workmen  to 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN".  397 

work,  on  account  of  which  refusal  the  government  was  com- 
pelled— as,  for  example,  in  the  county  of  Prince  George — to 
offer  to  each  man,  who  had  worked  twelve  days  on  the  batter- 
ies at  Hood's,  an  exemption  for  six  weeks  from  military  duty. 
Nelson  complained,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1781,  to  Jefferson,* 
that  for  the  last  twelve  months  he  had  received  no  money  for 
his  men.  In  the  same  way  all  the  commanding  officers  were 
in  want  of  every  thing,  and,  being  refused  on  all  hands,  ap- 
pealed as  a  last  resort  to  Steuben  for  redress  and  assistance. 
To  one  of  them,  who,  on  account  of  insufficiency  of  means,  did 
not  execute  his  orders,  he  remarked,  laconically,  though  in 
very  indifferent  English,  "  You  have  not  to  inquire  if  my  or- 
ders are  riht  or  rong,  you  have  to  obey  them,  and  the  service 
will  be  well  done." 

Notwithstanding  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  they  were  often 
wasted  by  the  negligence  of  officers,  or  stolen  by  the  commis- 
saries. Out  of  one  hundred  pairs  of  shoes,  for  instance,  which 
were  delivered  to  Colonel  Davies  from  Petersburg,  only  fifty- 
three  were  forthcoming,  and  the  one  hundred  at  Warwick 
turned  out  to  be  only  eighty-two  pairs.f  Fourteen  hundred 
and  ninety-five  yards  of  cloth,  which  the  governor  estimated 
to  be  sufficient  for  four  hundred  suits,  made  only  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  jack-coats,  as  the  cloth  was  only  half  as  wide  as 
represented.  The  shoes  were  so  bad  that  one  day's  wear  de- 
stroyed them.  The  most  shocking  carelessness,  however,  is 
furnished  by  Colonel  Mumford,  about  whom  Davies  writes  to 
Jefferson  as  follows,  viz.  :\ 

"  From  the  negligence  of  Colonel  Mumford,  the  issuing 
Continental  commissary  general  in  this  State,  there  is  the 
most  shameful  waste  of  provisions  and  scandalous  abuses  in 
that  department  that  can  well  be  conceived.  He  has  not,  for 
many  months,  paid  the  least  attention  to  his  deputies,  and  has 
even  refused  to  appoint  the  necessary  issuers  for  the  troops 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  vii.         f  Ibid.,  vol.  v.         %  Ibid.,   vol.  vii. 


398  L  I  F  B      OF      STEUBEN. 

below.  The  provisions  delivered  by  Mr.  Brown  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  army  in  this  State,  are  put  into  the  hands  of  men 
appointed  by  anybody  that  chooses  to  call  himself  a  command- 
ing officer;  no  account  is  ever  rendered  of  the  issues,  nor  will 
the  authority  of  these  occasional  commandants  be  acknowl- 
edged by  Congress,  and  the  receipts  of  these  commissaries, 
acting  under  these  appointments,  will,  of  course,  be  inadmis- 
sible as  sufficient  vouchers  to  make  the  United  States  charge- 
able  with  the  provision  furnished  by  the  State  to  their  service. 
Independent  from  the  difficulty  which  may  arise  hereafter  in 
the  adjustment  of  the  commissary's  accounts,  I  would  observe, 
too,  the  amazing  waste  which  results  from  the  relaxed  state  of 
that  department,  and  that,  although  the  resolves  of  Congress 
expressly  say  there  shall  be  no  issuing  post  of  provisions  or  of 
forage,  at  any  place  where  there  are  not  Continental  troops 
stationed,  yet  in  this  State  there  are  these  petty  commissa- 
ries in  a  variety  of  little  towns,  where  perhaps  there  will  not, 
and  there  have  not,  been  ten  Continental  soldiers  in  a  twelve- 
month." 

To  prevent  a  further  waste  of  public  stores,  and  to  estab- 
lish regularity,  Steuben,  in  a  general  order  of  the  10th  of 
April,  1781,  decreed  that  in  future  no  issues  of  .provisions 
should  be  made  for  more  than  three  or  four  days  at  a  time, 
without  a  special  order  from  some  commanding  general  or 
field  officer,  and  only  on  particular  occasions  ;  and  that  no  per- 
son should  act  as  issuing  commissary  at  any  post  or  station, 
who  was  not  properly  authorized  for  that  purpose  by  the  com- 
missary general. 

Supported  only  by  a  few  able  officers,  Steuben  had  to  strive 
against  the  stream  of  popular  prejudice,  native  jealousy,  and 
almost  universal  apathy.  The  only  comfort  which  he  had  was, 
that  the  general  whom  he  had  to  reinforce  understood  his  diffi- 
cult position  ;  that  Greene,  who  found  himself  involved  in  still 
greater  embarrassments,  appreciated  Steuben's  energetic,  al- 
though fruitless  efforts,  and  the  character  of  Virginia — that 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  399 

u  lifeless  and  inactive  State ;"  and  that  he  encouraged  Steuben, 
while  narrow-minded  egotists  would  have  thrown  the  blame 
of  their  temporary  want  of  success  upon  the  insufficiency  of 
his  cooperation.  Strong  evidence  of  Greene's  conviction  that 
Steuben  was  not  to  blame  for  the  untoward  position  of  affairs, 
is  given  in  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  Steuben. 

*  To  your  address  and  industry,"  writes  he  on  the  3d  of 
February,  1781,  "I  feel  myself  principally  indebted  for  what 
is  coming  (of  reinforcements).  Whatever  misfortune  may 
happen  for  want  of  force,  it  is  no  fault  of  ours.  The  southern 
States  are  in  such  a  defenseless  condition  that  they  must  fall 
under  the  dominion  of  the  enemy,  unless  reinforcements  are 
immediately  sent  from  the  northward.  Such  destruction  of 
public  stores  (on  the  part  of  the  militia)  is  enough  to  ruin  a 
nation.  These  are  some  of  the  happy  effects  of  defending  the 
country  with  militia,  from  which  good  Lord  deliver  us !  O, 
that  we  had  in  the  field,  as  Henry  V.  said,  some  few  of  the 
many  thousands  that  are  idle  at  home  !"* 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Greene,  when  he  left  Steu- 
ben, on  the  20th  of  November,  1780,  in  Virginia,  proceeded 
at  once  further  South.  On  the  2d  of  December  he  reached 
the  encampment  of  the  American  army  at  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  while  the  main  body  of  the  British  army  was  lying 
at  Winnsborough,  South  Carolina,  between  the  Broad  river 
and  the  Catawba.  The  forces  of  which  Greene  could  dispose 
were  not  more  than  nine  hundred  and  seventy  Continentals 
and  one  thousand  and  thirteen  militia,  of  whom  eight  hundred 
men  only  were  properly  clad  and  equipped  for  service.  The 
destitute  condition  and  the  want  of  discipline  in  which  he 
found  them,  prevented  Greene  from  hazarding  the  risk  of  a 
general  engagement ;  all  he  could  do  at  present  was  to  disci- 
pline and  accustom  his  troops  to  active  service  in  the  field, 
and  by  deceiving  the  British  commander  as  to  his  intentions 

*  MS.  letter  of  February  3,  1781,  in  the  Greene  Collection. 


•100  LIFE      OP      STEUBEN. 

and  movements,  to  avoid  an  unforeseen  attack  on  the  part  of 
Cornvvallis. 

For  this  purpose  he  divided  his  forces,  and  sent  one  por- 
tion, under  Morgan,  to  operate  on  the  British  left  and  rear, 
while  he  advanced  with  the  main  body  to  a  strong  post  on  the 
frontier  of  South  Carolina,  on  the  Great  Pedee,  to  threaten 
the  right  wing  of  the  British  army,  and,  if  possible,  cut  off 
its  communication  with  Charleston.  Cornwallis  sent  Tarleton 
against  Morgan,  and  a  battle  was  fought  at  the  Cowpens,  in 
which  the  American  arms  were  victorious.  Cornwallis  him- 
self broke  up  his  camp  at  Winnsborough,  and  marched  north- 
ward, in  order  to  cut  off  Morgan's  communication  with  Greene. 
He  did  not  succeed  in  this  project,  as  Morgan,  a  few  hours  be- 
fore Cornwallis  reached  the  Catawba,  had  crossed  it  unmolest- 
ed. Greene  thus  effected  his  junction  with  Morgan,  and  took 
the  command.  Pursued  by  Cornwallis,  he  retired  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Yadkin,  and  joined,  at  Guilford  Court-house,  the 
main  body  of  his  army.  It  was  the  design  of  Cornvvallis  to 
prevent  the  American  army  from  falling  back  on  Virginia, 
whence  they  had  the  means  of  obtaining  supplies  and  recruits. 
Marching  up  the  Yadkin,  he  moved  toward  the  Dan,  but 
Greene  succeeded  in  retiring,  on  the  14th  of  February,  into 
Virginia,  whereupon  Cornwallis,  master  of  North  and  South 
Carolina,  established  himself  at  Hillsborough,  the  center  of  the 
Tories,  who  were  so  enthusiastic  that  in  the  course  of  a  day  he 
obtained  seven  companies  of  volunteers.  Shortly  after  this 
reinforcements  arrived,  and  Greene  was  in  a  position  to  re- 
cross  the  Dan  and  to  follow  Cornwallis,  who,  for  want  of  pro- 
visions and  for  the  better  protection  of  the  Tories,  had  left  his 
quarters,  and  encamped  at  Allimance  Creek.  Greene's  army 
now  consisted  of  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  men,  amono- 
whom  were  sixteen  hundred  Continentals.  He  felt  strong 
enough  to  offer  a  battle  to  Cornwallis,  who  accepted  it,  and 
defeated  the  Americans,  on  the  15th  of  March,  at  Guilford 
Court-house.     Cornwallis,   however,   gained   nothing  by  this 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  401 

victory  ;  he  found  no  provisions  in  the  neighborhood  of  Guil- 
ford, and  withdrew  his  forces  to  Cross  Creek  (Fayetteville)  ; 
hut  being  disappointed  again  in  his  expectations  of  obtaining 
supplies,  he  fell  back  on  Wilmington,  at  the  mouth  of  Cape 
Fear  river.  Greene,  instead  of  pushing  forward,  was  obliged 
to  discontinue  the  pursuit  of  Cornwallis,  as  the  Virginia  mili- 
tia claimed  their  discharge.  He,  therefore,  was  compelled  to 
transfer  his  operations  to  South  Carolina,  and  marched,  on  the 
7th  of  April,  toward  Camden.  A  few  days  before,  he  was 
obliged  to  disband  the  militia,  whose  term  of  service  was  ex- 
pired, and  who,  in  spite  of  all  entreaties  and  remonstrances, 
refused  to  serve  a  day  longer.  The  volunteers  who  had  joined 
him,  dropped  off  by  hundreds,  nor  was  it  in  the  power  of  per- 
suasion or  threats  to  prevent  them.  Had  they  continued  with 
him,  Greene  would  have  been  able  to  strike  an  effective  blow 
against  Cornwallis  ;  now  he  had  to  wait  for  reinforcements 
from  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Delaware.  His  expectations 
rested  chiefly  on  Virginia ;  but  notwithstanding  his  energetic 
exertions  to  assist  him,  Steuben  effected  little  or  nothing. 

Before  the  invasion  of  Arnold,  as  detailed  in  chapter  XVI., 
Steuben  was  only  able  to  send  a  detachment  of  four  hundred 
and  fifty-six  men  to  General  Greene.  After  the  withdrawal 
of  the  enemy  to  Portsmouth,  he  endeavored  to  collect  a  new 
force  and  forward  it  to  the  South,  but  for  the  reasons  we  have 
given  above,  this  was  now  much  more  difficult  than  at  any 
previous  time.  On  the  17th  of  February,  1781,  he  informed 
Greene  that  a  thousand  militia  were  ordered  to  join  him  im- 
mediately from  Botetourt,  Montgomery,  Pittsylvania,  Wash- 
ington and  Henry  counties,  and  that  he  had  strained  every 
nerve  to  dispatch  from  Chesterfield  a  detachment  of  four  to 
five  hundred  men.  "  I  can  not  yet  say,"  he  continues,  "  what 
we  may  be  able  to  do,  but  be  assured  that  no  other  object 
shall  draw  off  one  moment  my  attention  from  succoring  you. 
The  others  are  but  secondary  objects  ;  they  must  and  shall  be 
considered  in  that  light."     Steuben  applied  for  this  purpose 


402  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

to  Jefferson,  and  agreed  with  him  that  the  militia  of  Rock- 
bridge, Augusta,  Rockingham  and  Shenandoah  counties,  would 
be  the  most  speedy  and  effectual  reinforcements  for  General 
Greene ;  but  as  there  were  no  other  troops  to  supply  their 
places,  and  as  they  refused  to  march,  the  governor  and  Steu- 
ben were  forced  to  abandon  the  project  out  of  regard  to  the 
safety  of  the  State.  Steuben  communicated  at  the  same  time 
with  General  Smallwood  and  Governor  Gist,  in  order  to  as- 
certain what  reinforcements  he  could  expect  from  Maryland 
and  Delaware  for  the  southern  army. 

"  General  Greene's  situation,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  from 
Richmond,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1781,  to  Smallwood,  "  not- 
withstanding his  last  success,  is  very  disagreeable,  and  calls  for 
the  immediate  exertion  of  this  State  and  Maryland.  I  must 
beg  you,  my  dear  general,  to  push  your  State  to  raise  and 
send  on  a  reinforcement  to  the  South  without  delay."* 

On  the  25th  of  February  Steuben  succeeded  in  getting  off 
the  detachment,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Campbell,  while 
four  hundred,  rank  and  file,  marched  from  Chesterfield  via 
Petersburg  and  Taylor's  Ferry.  "  My  plan  is,"  he  concludes 
a  letter  to  Greene,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1781, f  "to  send 
off  the  third  detachment  of  infantry  on  the  1st  of  April,  the 
fourth  detachment  on  the  15th  of  April,  and  the  fifth  on  the 
1st  of  May.  With  the  latter  I  intend  to  join  you  myself,  and 
to  leave  Colonel  Davies  to  send  off  the  others  in  the  same  or- 
der. The  object  of  supporting  you  has  taken  a  very  great 
part  of  my  attention,  and  I  can  only  lament  that  my  success 
falls  so  far  short  of  my  zeal." 

Instead  of  the  five  hundred  recruits,  however,  whom  he 
expected  to  find  at  the  rendezvous  towards  the  end  of  March, 
1781,  and  to  send  forward  on  the  1st  of  April  to  Greene,  only 
seven  had  come  in,  and  even  of  these,  two  deserted.  General 
Muhlenberg  did  not  fare  much  better.  He  had  expected  to 
receive  one  hundred  and  four  men  as  the  contingent  from 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi.  f  Greene's  MS  Papers. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  403 

New  Kent  for  service  within  the  State,  but  only  nine  ar- 
rived, thus  proving  that  not  only  were  the  people  disinclined 
for  service  out  of  the  State,  but  even  for  the  defense  of  their 
own  homes.  Steuben  was  consequently  unable  to  fulfill  his 
promise,  both  in  this  and  subsequent  cases.  The  slowness 
with  which  the  militia  assembled,  and  the  difficulty  to  keep 
them  together,  rendered  it  impossible  to  collect  the  troops 
necessary  for  the  defense  of  Virginia,  and  therefore  it  was  out 
of  the  question  to  weaken  it  still  more  by  sending  detach- 
ments to  the  South.  The  militia,  under  Colonels  Green  and 
Campbell,  thus  remained  the  only  reinforcements  which  were 
sent,  through  Steuben's  exertions,  to  the  southern  army. 


CHAPTER     XIX. 

Muhlenberg  watching  Portsmouth.  —  His  involuntary  Inactivity.  —  General 
Want  of  Necessaries  in  the  American  Camp. — Arnold  keeps  Quiet. — Three 
French  Ships  in  the  Bay  taken  for  the  whole  French  Fleet. — The  Mistake 
discovered. — Steuben  prepares  for  an  Attack  against  Portsmouth. — The 
Commander  of  the  French  Ships  refuses  to  assist  him.— Washington  induces 
the  French  Admiral  to  set  Sail  for  Chesapeake  Bay. — Rochambeau  detaches 
Troops  there.— A  decisive  Stroke  against  Portsmouth  prepared. — Hope  of 
taking  Arnold  Prisoner. — Washington  sends  Lafayette  to  Virginia. — Rea- 
sons why. — Instructions  given  to  Lafayette. — His  Letter  to  Steuben. — La- 
fayette expects  to  capture  Arnold.— The  State  does  Nothing  towards  fur- 
thering the  Objects  of  the  Expedition.— Steuben's  Correspondence  with 
Jefferson  and  Nelson. — Steuben  and  Lafayette. — Parallel  of  Washington- 
Irving   BETWEEN   THEM   INCORRECT.— INSTEAD   OF   THE   FRENCH,    AN  ENGLISH   FLEET 

arrives.— On  Account  of  its  Arrival,  Lafayette,  who  had  just  left  the 
State,  returns. — General  Phillips  arrives  at  Portsmouth,  and  takes  the 
chief  Command  in  Virginia. — Rejection  of  Steuben's  Plan  for  the  Expul- 
sion of  the  Enemy  from  the  State.— Want  of  Horses  and  Arms.— Steuben 
in  Chesterfield. — He  desires  to  join  Greene. — His  Letter  to  Greene. — 
Greene's  noble  Answer. — Steuben  for  the  Present  remains  in  Virginia. 

rpO  return  to  the  operations  in  Virginia,  where  we  left  Gen- 
■*■  eral  Muhlenberg  watching  Arnold  in  Portsmouth.  On  ac- 
count of  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  want  of  arms  and  supplies, 
and  the  general  destitution  which  prevailed  in  camp  as  well  as 
in  the  whole  State,  Muhlenberg  was  unable  to  attack  the  ene- 
my, still  less  to  strike  a  decisive  blow.  He  spent  the  greater 
part  of  February  in  inactivity,  and  although  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted wTith  this  state  of  things,  had  no  power  to  mend  his 
condition.  He  had  two  thousand  men,  but  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  they  were  militia,  and  as  ill  provided  as  the  re- 
cruits at  Chesterfield,  whose  condition  has  been  described  in 
the  previous  chapter.  Among  his  whole  force  he  counted 
about  three  hundred  bayonets  and  only  two  brass  six  pound- 
ers. He,  therefore,  could  not  think  of  a  regular  siege  of  the 
strongly  fortified  place,  and  the  only  thing  left  to  him  was  to 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  405 

skirmish  with  the  enemy  as  often  as  possible,  and  thus  to  ac- 
custom his  troops  to  action.  Arnold,  on  the  other  side,  was 
very  cautious,  and  remained  at  Portsmouth.  He  expected  re- 
inforcements, and  did  not  want  to  fight,  when  his  presence 
alone  was  sufficient  to  engage  the  whole  military  power  of  the 
State,  and  to  prevent  the  dispatch  of  reinforcements  and  pro- 
visions to  the  southern  army.  Jefferson,  at  the  beginning  of 
February  had  intrusted  to  Muhlenberg  the  execution  of  a 
plan  for  the  seizure  of  Arnold,  and  his  delivery  into  the  hai 
of  the  governor;  but  owing  to  the  extraordinary  precautions 
which  Arnold  took  for  his  own  security,  the  project  failed.* 

Thus  matters  stood  when,  on  the  16th  of  February,  three 
French  vessels  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  James  river,  one  of 
sixty-four  guns  and  two  frigates.  Colonel  Dabney,  who  com- 
manded the  lower  posts,  took  tbem  for  the  whole  French  fleet 
and  reported  thus  to  Nelson.  "What  you  expected,"  writes 
the  latter  on  the  16th  of  February,  to  Steuben,  "has  taken 
place.  I  give  you  joy  with  all  my  seal.  Now  is  our  time  ;  not 
a  moment  ought  to  be  lost !" 

The  mistake  was,  however,  soon  discovered.  The  ships 
came  from  Rhode  Island,  where  a  storm  had  given  a  tempo- 
rary superioritv  to  the  French,  who  had  hitherto  been  block- 
aded by  ths  British  fleet,  and  were  under  the  command  of  Mr. 
De  T^Jy,  who  was  on  a  cruise  between  New  York  and  Charles- 
con.  Steuben  immediately  sent  Captain  Duponceau  on  board, 
to  inform  the  French  commander  of  his  situation;  and  expect- 
ing a  cooperation  on  his  part  against  Portsmouth,  at  once 
made  all  the  necessary  preparations,  both  for  this  enterprise 
and  for  the  security  of  the  French  vessels  in  case  of  danger. 
For  the  first  project  he  ordered  General  Gregory  to  assemble 
all  the  force  in  his  power  on  the  other  side  of  the  Dismal 
Swamp,  and  hold  them  in  readiness  to  second  Steuben  when- 
ever he  should  be  ready.  A  line  of  expresses  was  established 
between  his  post  and  Suffolk,  by  means  of  which  he  could 
*  Bowen's  Life  of  Steuben,  p.  59. 


400  I-1FE     OF     STEUBEN. 

have  given  him  the  necessary  advice  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours. 

General  Muhlenberg  advanced  with  about  one  thousand 
men  to  within  sixteen  miles  of  Portsmouth,  leaving  the  posts 
at  Cooper's  Mill  and  Suffolk  properly  guarded  to  cover  his 
retreat.  General  Nelson  had  orders  to  hold  himself  in  readi- 
ness to  march  at  the  first  notice.  General  Weedon  formed  a 
corps  of  eight  hundred  militia  at  Fredericksburg,  with  orders 
*o  march  toward  Williamsburg  in  case  of  an  attack  on  Ports- 
month.  This  corps  was  to  have  marched  to  Newport  News, 
and  if  thQ  French  vessels  had  been  obliged  to  retire  to  York 
river,  it  was  to  have  covered  the  battery  erected  there  for 
their  defense.  Sia.  or  seven  armed  merchant  vessels  in  James 
river  were  to  have  joined  the  French  vessels  and  assisted  Steu- 
ben's operations ;  all  the  boats  that  could  be  found  were  col- 
lected at  Sandy  Point  to  transport  the  troops ;  eight  eighteen 
pounders  and  two  mortars  were  got  in  readiness.  Such  were 
Steuben's  preparations,  when  Mr.  De  Tilly  informed  him  that 
he  was  not  to  remain  in  the  b^y,  that  his  orders  were  to  cruise 
between  Charleston  and  New  York,  and  that  he  should  sail 
the  moment  the  wind  would  permit  him. 

The  appearance  of  those  vessels  had  m4  alarmed  the 
enemy  in  Portsmouth  and  encouraged  the  YirgWia  militia. 
General  Muhlenberg  advanced  near  Portsmouth,  surpri&Qj  a 
picquet,  made  one  sergeant  and  twelve  men  prisoners,  killed 
two  yagers,  and  took  a  wagon  and  eight  horses.  He  remained 
within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  town,  all  next  day,  but  the 
enemy  kept  close  in  their  works.  The  departure  of  the  French 
vessels,  however,  destroyed  all  hopes  of  succeeding  in  an  at- 
tack on  Portsmouth.*  Mr.  De  Tilly  alleged  as  a  reason  for 
not  cooperating  with  Steuben,  that  the  size  of  his  ships  ren- 
dered it  unsafe  for  him  to  attempt  to  go  up  Elizabeth  river, 
where  Arnold  had  drawn  up  his  vessels ;  but  this  was  a  flimsy 

*  MS.  letter  of  Steuben  to  Greene,  from  Chesterfield  Court-house,  on  the 
2  2d  of  February,  1781,  in  the  Greene  Papers. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  407 

excuse,  as  by  stationing  himself  at  the  mouth  of  Elizabeth 
river,  De  Tilly  would  have  cut  off  Arnold's  retreat  and  forced 
him  to  surrender.* 

While  Steuben  and  Muhlenberg  were  subjected  to  this 
disappointment,  Washington,  most  anxious  to  seize  the  traitor 
Arnold,  had  prevailed  on  the  French  admiral  to  promise  the 
cooperation  of  his  whole  fleet  in  the  attack  against  Ports- 
mouth. Accordingly,  Admiral  Destouches  resolved  to  sail  for 
the  Chesapeake  in  order  to  block  up  Arnold  in  the  bay  and 
prevent  his  receiving  succor.  Count  Rochambeau,  the  com- 
mander of  the  French  troops,  sent  a  corps  of  eleven  hundred 
and  twenty  infantry  under  Baron  De  Viomenil,  on  board 
the  French  fleet,  to  carry  out  more  effectually  Washington's 
plan. 

Every  thing  warranted  the  hope  of  decided  success.  At 
head-quarters  they  considered  Arnold  already  as  a  doomed 
man,  and  to  judge  from  the  importance  which  was  attached 
to  his  capture,  it  would  almost  appear  that  the  expedition  was 
undertaken  more  with  the  view  of  taking  personal  revenge 
against  Arnold,  than  with  the  more  important  and  real  object 
of  relieving  Greene  and  saving  the  whole  South  by  the  defeat 
of  the  enemy  in  Virginia.  It  is  strange,  that,  even  in  the 
reflecting  and  comprehensive  mind  of  Washington,  so  much 
stress  should  be  laid  on  making  a  prisoner  the  detested  leader 
of  the  British  forces — a  project  that  was  nothing  but  a  roman- 
tic fancy.  In  like  manner,  in  the  beginning  of  1778,  Washing- 
ton had  formed  a  plan  to  abduct  Sir  Henry  Clinton  from  New 
York,  and  only  the  shrewd  suggestions  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton prevented  the  attempted  execution  of  the  plan.f 

Steuben,  after  having  forwarded  Colonel  Campbell,  with 
four  hundred  men,  to  the  southern  army,  had  no  Continentals 
left,  and  only  militia  under  his  orders.  "  Convinced,"  writes 
Washington  to  him  on  the  20th  of  February,  1781,  from  New 

*  Life  of  General  Peter  Muhlenberg,  by  Henry  A.  Muhlenberg,  p.  230. 
f  Washington  Irviug's  Life  of  Washington,  iii.,  392,  393. 


408  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

Windsor,*  "that  a  naval  operation  alone  will  probably  be  in- 
effectual, and  that  militia  would  be  unequal  to  the  reduction 
of  Arnold  in  his  works,  I  have  detached  a  corps  of  twelve 
hundred  men  from  this  army,  chiefly  consisting  of  the  light 
infantry,  and  of  course  commanded  by  the  Marquis  De  Lafay- 
ette, which  will,  I  hope,  arrive  at  the  Head  of  Elk  about  the 
6th  of  March,  to  embark  there  and  proceed  down  the  bay  to 
Hampton  Roads  or  the  point  of  operation.  This  corps  will 
carry  with  it  some  heavy  artillery,  but  if  you  can  procure  any 
inr  addition,  it  will  be  of  great  importance.  I  am  to  desire 
you  will  make  such  arrangements  with  respect  to  the  militia 
and  supplies,  and  will  take  such  a  position  as  you  judge  will 
be  most  conducive  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The 
Marquis  De  Lafayette  will  open  a  correspondence  with  you 
for  this  purpose." 

In  the  instructions  given  to  Lafayette  in  regard  to  the 
enterprise  against  Portsmouth,  Washington  says:f  "When 
you  arrive  at  your  destination  you  must  act  as  your  own 
judgment  and  the  circumstances  shall  direct.  You  will  open 
a  correspondence  with  Baron  Steuben,  who  now  commands  in 
Virginia,  informing  him  of  your  approach,  and  requesting  him 
to  have  a  sufficient  body  of  militia  ready  to  act  in  conjunc- 
tion with  your  detachment.  It  will  be  advisable  for  him  to 
procure  persons  in  whom  he  can  confide,  well  acquainted 
with  the  country  at  Portsmouth  and  in  the  vicinity;  some 
who  are  capable  of  giving  you  a  military  idea  of  it,  and  others 
to  serve  as  guides.  You  should  give  the  earliest  attention  to 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  different  rivers,  but  particularly 
the  James  river,  that  you  may  know  what  harbors  can  best 
afford  shelter  and  security  to  the  cooperating  squadron  in  case 
of  blockade  by  a  sujjerior  force.  You  are  to  do  no  act  what- 
ever, with  Arnold,  that  directly  or  by  implication  may  screen 
him  from  the  punishment  due  to  his  treason  and  desertion, 

*  Washington's  Writings,  by  J.  Sparks,  vii.,  p.  421. 
f  Ibidem,  p.  419. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  409 

which,  if  he  should  fall  into  your  hands,  you  will  execute  in 
the  most  summary  way." 

Lafayette  could  scarcely  wait  to  reach  Virginia  ;  his  sole 
aim  and  purpose,  the  object  of  his  most  ardent  desires,  was  the 
capture  of  Arnold,  who,  he  constantly  dreaded,  would  evade 
the  snares  in  which  he  hoped  to  catch  him.  "  Nothing  will 
be  wanting,"  he  wrote  from  Morristown,  on  the  24th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1781,  to  Steuben,*  "to  hurry  the  detachment,  which 
you  will  find  to  be  an  excellent  body  of  troops.  I  hope  that 
the  French  ships  will  strictly  blockade  Mr.  Arnold,  and  as 
your  position  will  no  doubt  exclude  the  possibility  of  his 
taking  any  advantage  by  land,  I  hope  we  may,  before  long, 
give  a  good  account  of  him.  Should  he  by  chance  make  any 
proposition,  no  communication  ought  to  be  held  with  him  that 
might  countenance  any  pretension  to  his  being  a  prisoner  of 
war." 

"The  article  of  my  letter  of  the  24th  inst.,"  he  continues 
on  the  26th  of  February,  in  Philadelphia,!  "  relating  to  any 
terms  Arnold  might  propose,  is  the  more  important  as  it  is 
the  more  positively  expressed  in  my  instructions." 

On  the  3d  of  March,  when  he  arrived  at  the  Head  of  Elk, 
he  wrote  to  Muhlenberg  :J  "  In  all  cases  I  am  to  request  you 
that  no  communication  be  held  with  Arnold  that  may  in  any 
way  give  him  the  least  claim  to  the  advantages  of  a  prisoner 
of  war." 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  Steuben,  who  had  done 
every  thing  in  his  power  to  defend  Virginia,  and  since  his 
arrival  in  the  State  had  suffered  under  the  most  embarrassing 
difficulties,  was  looking  with  uneasiness  upon  the  sudden  in- 
trusion of  Lafayette,  just  at  the  moment  when  he  had  the 
agreeable  prospect  of  taking  Portsmouth.  "  To-morrow,"  he 
writes  on  the  3d  of  March,  1781,  to  Greene,§  "I  set  out  for 
Williamsburg  to  finish  my  preparations  for  the  arrival  of  the 

*  Gates  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xix.,  p.  12.  f  IbicL>  P-  13' 

%  Ibid.,  p.  1 6.  §  Greene  MS.  Papers. 

18 


410  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

marquis  and  the  fleet.  I  have  communicated  to  him  the  plan 
of  operation  I  should  have  followed  had  the  fleet  been  here 
to  assist  me.  I  think  the  same  plan,  with  very  little  alter- 
ations, should  be  now  adopted.  I  flatter  myself  that  a  mar- 
quis and  minus  six  hundred  troops  that  are  coming,  it 
would  have  been  in  my  power  to  have  delivered  to  you  Mr. 
Arnold,  but  this  honor  is  reserved  for  another.  But  do  not 
think,  my  dear  general,  that  this  idea,  however  mortifying, 
will  in  the  least  relax  my  zeal  in  the  affair ;  on  the  contrary, 
!  hope  the  marquis  will  find  every  thing  prepared  for  his  ar- 
rival." 

The  State  of  Virginia  was  unable  to  furnish  the  articles 
which  were  required  for  the  expedition  against  Portsmouth. 
They  had  no  money  and  no  credit ;  the  only  thing  they  could 
do  was  to  issue  impress  warrants  for  horses,  boats  and  pro- 
visions. Even  Steuben  asked  the  governor  in  vain  for  sur- 
geons, with  instruments  and  bandages  for  the  troops.  The 
Executive  promised  to  provide  every  thing  that  was  wanted, 
but  put  Steuben  off  from  day  to  day.  There  was  no  powder 
even  to  be  had.  In  Muhlenberg's  camp  the  whole  ammunition 
amounted  to  eight  rounds  a  man  and  provision  for  four  days. 
But  what  was  worse  than  all,  the  reinforcements  which  the 
State  had  promised  did  not  arrive,  yet  it  was  on  the  strength 
of  the  promise,  and  on  a  belief  in  the  energetic  cooperation  of 
the  State,  that  Steuben  had  represented  to  Lafayette  "  the 
facility  of  taking  the  fortifications  of  Portsmouth,  sword  in 
hand." 

"  On  my  arrival  yesterday  afternoon,"  writes  Lafayette  to 
Washington,  from  Yorktovvn,  on  the  15th  of  March,*  "I  found 
that  Baron  De  Steuben  had  been  very  active  in  making  prep- 
arations, and  agreeably  to  what  he  tells  me,  we  shall  have  five 
thousand  militia  ready  to  operate.  This,  with  the  Continental 
detachment,  is  equal  to  the  business,  and  we  might  very  well 
do  without  any  land  force  from  Xewport.  In  your  first  letter 
*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  by  J.  Sparks,  iii.,  264. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  411 

to  the  baron,  I  wish,  my  dear  general,  you  would  write  to  him 
that  I  have  been  much  satisfied  with  his  preparations.  I  want 
to  please  him,  and  harmony  shall  be  my  first  object." 

The  preparations  which  Steuben  had  made^for  the  attack 
on  Portsmouth  are  detailed  in  his  letter  to  General  Greene,  on 
the  16th  of  March,  as  follows  :  "Four  eighteen-pound  cannon, 
two  thirteen-inch  mortars,  eight  field  pieces,  seven  or  eight 
thousand  pounds  of  powder,  with  shells  and  balls  sufficient ; 
four  troops  of  cavalry,  each  thirty,  one  hundred  and  twenty; 
nine  regiments  four  hundred  each,  three  thousand  six  hundred 
men  ;  five  hundred  riflemen,  six  hundred  militia  from  Carolina 
and  Princess  Ann  counties  :  in  all  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  twenty  militia."  Unfortunately,  however,  the  greater 
part  of  these  supplies,  both  of  men  and  arms,  existed  only  on 
paper,  and  Steuben  was  again  forced  to  complain  to  the  gov- 
ernment about  the  unfulfillment  of  its  promises,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  letter  to  Governor  Jefferson,  dated  the  9th 
of  March,  1781:* 

"  I  have  received  a  letter  from  General  Muhlenberg,  dated 
the  7th  instant,  informing  me  that  the  reinforcements  which 
were  to  have  joined  him  on  the  5th,  had  not  then  arrived,  and 
consequently  he  was  prevented  from  detaching  the  eight  hun- 
dred men  destined  to  join  General  Gregory,  and  to  secure  the 
passage  of  the  Great  Bridge.  At  the  same  instant  arrived 
twelve  men,  being  all  of  the  one  hundred  and  four  who  were 
ordered  from  New  Kent.  They  are  unarmed  and  demand  my 
orders.  I  am  extremely  sorry  to  declare  that  I  shall  give 
neither  arms  nor  orders.  On  the  assurance  I  received  from 
government  by  Colonel  Walker,  I  had  the  weakness  to  write 
General  Washington  and  Marquis  Lafayette  that  every  thing 
was  ready  for  the  expedition.  My  credulit}T,  however,  is  pun- 
ished at  the  expense  of  my  honor,  and  the  only  excuse  I  have 
is,  my  confidence  in  government.  The  quarter-master  writes 
me,  that  he  has  implored  the  assistance  of  government  in  pro- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


412  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

curing  stores  for  the  expedition.  In  fact,  if  the  powers  of 
government  are  inadequate  to  the  furnishing  whnt  is  indispen- 
sably necessary,  the  expedition  must  fail.  In  this  situation  I 
suspend  giving  any  orders  till  I  receive  your  Excellency's  an- 
swer to  this,  which  answer  I  will  lay  before  the  marquis  and 
the  commander  of  the  French  fleet,  that  they  may  not  engage 
too  far  in  an  enterprise  for  which  there  is  no  prospect  of  car- 
rying it  through." 

These  apprehensions  and  hopes  are  confirmed  in  a  letter  of 
Steubens',  dated  the  10th  of  March,  to  General  Nelson.  "An 
event  is  approaching,"  he  says,*  "  which  will  have  much  influ- 
ence on  the  operations  of  the  next  campaign.  Your  indispo- 
sition at  this  time  is  particularly  unfortunate,  as  it  deprives  me 
of  your  counsel  and  assistance  at  a  time  I  am  in  the  greatest 
want  of  them.  You  are  better  acquainted  than  I  am  with 
the  strength  and  weakness  of  this  State,  and  you  have  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  Judge  then  how  much  I  regret 
your  absence.  I  am  in  want  of  every  thing,  and  government 
have  not  the  power  to  assist  me,  in  consequence  of  wrhich  I 
am  disappointed  in  the  most  essential  arrangements.  Even 
the  militia,  ordered  out  for  this  expedition,  refuse  to  come. 
.  .  .  Here  we  have  a  pleasing  prospect  before  us.  We  may, 
I  think,  be  certain  that  a  fleet  will  come  to  cooperate  with  us, 
and  in  that  case  the  grand  traitor  can  not  escape.  If  we, 
through  neglect,  fail  in  this,  it  will  have  a  bad  effect  on  the 
rest  of  our  operations  this  campaign." 

Irving,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  his  Life  of  Washington,! 
in  order  to  prove  that  "  the  youthful  marquis  was  not  so  san- 
guine as  the  veteran  baron,"  quotes  Lafayette's  letter,  dated 
the  7th  of  March,  1781,  to  Washington,  according  to  which 
Steuben  declared  the  taking  of  Portsmouth,  sword  in  hand,  a 
very  easy  affair.  But  he  does  not  mention  under  what  con- 
ditions and  suppositions  Steuben  thought  thus.  The  above 
letters,  which  are  by  no  means  sanguine,  fully  explain  the 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi.  f  Page  435. 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  413 

grounds  on  which  Steuben's  opinion  was  formed,  and  on  this 
account  deserve  particular  consideration. 

The  French  fleet  left  Newport  on  the  8th  of  March,  and 
its  arrival  in  Chesapeake  Bay  could  reasonably  be  expected 
about  the  middle  of  March.  Lafayette  reached  the  camp  of 
Muhlenberg,  near  Suffolk,  on  the  19th  of  March.  This  gen- 
eral had  been  very  active  in  the  meantime.  He  held  the  ac- 
tual command  of  the  troops  in  the  field,  while  Steuben  was 
occupied  in  making  preparations  for  the  arrival  of  the  French 
fleet,  and  gained  many  advantages  over  Arnold,  by  cutting 
off  foraging  parties,  driving  in  his  outposts,  and  even  taking 
his  post  at  Great  Bridge.  Surrounded  on  the  land  side  by 
Muhlenberg,  Arnold  could  not  expect  to  keep  the  place,  if  he 
did  not  soon  receive  relief.  Every  thing  was  ready  to  effect 
the  capture  of  the  place,  should  the  French  fleet  arrive  and 
lend  the  expected  assistance  by  sea. 

At  last,  on  the  20th  of  March,  a  large  fleet  was  seen  in 
the  bay.  The  hopes  of  all  parties  were  excited  in  the  highest 
degree.  The  Americans  were  jubilant  at  the  idea  that  Arnold 
could  not  escape,  and  that  the  British  must  suffer  a  decided 
defeat.  But  their  joy  was  short,  and  was  soon  turned  into 
bitter  disappointment.  On  the  23d  it  was  discovered  that 
the  fleet  which  had  arrived  was  the  British  squadron  under 
Arbuthnot,  which  had  sailed  two  days  after  the  departure  of 
the  French  from  Newport,  that  about  twenty  leagues  off  the 
Capes  it  fell  in  with  the  French  fleet  and  engaged  it  for  an 
hour  and  a  half,  and  that  Admiral  Destouches,  though  not 
beaten,  had  decided  to  return  to  Newport,  while  the  British, 
considerably  damaged,  steered  off  and  anchored  first  in  Lynn- 
haven  Bay,  and  then  opposite  Portsmouth,  to  repair  their 
damages  and  send  their  wounded  to  the  hospital.  This  inde- 
cisive engagement  on  the  part  of  the  British  amounted  to  a 
complete  victory,  as  Arnold  and  Portsmouth  were  saved. 
Thus  the  Americans  were  once  again  disappointed  in  their 
hopes  of  a  successful  expedition. 


414  LIFE     OF      STEUBEN. 

Lafayette,  whose  troops  had  not  advanced  farther  than 
Annapolis,  returned  by  water  to  the  Head  of  Elk,  and  prepared 
to  join  the  main  army  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  understand  this  movement  on  his  part,  were 
it  not  for  the  reason,  that  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  the 
arrival  of  the  French  fleet,  he  presumed  his  task  at  an  end.  With 
true  French  ardor  for  flourish  he  expected  to  capture  Arnold, 
and  withdrew  when  he  found  that  the  glory  at  which  he  aimed 
could  not  be  won.  The  critical  state  of  affairs  in  the  South 
should  have  prevented  Lafayette  from  drawing  off  his  troops 
to  the  northward,  the  more  so  as  the  force  of  the  enemy  was 
lessened  in  the  North  by  the  detachment  under  Phillips,  which 
arrived  in  Portsmouth  while  Lafayette  was  still  in  Williams- 
burg.* 

Thus  Steuben,  who,  notwithstanding  Lafayette's  presence, 
had  not  been  superseded  in  the  command,  was  again  left  alone. 
Arnold,  however,  was  soon  relieved  by  General  Phillips,  who, 
with  two  thousand  men,  reached  Portsmouth  on  the  26th  of 
March,  and  being  the  senior  general  took  the  command.  His 
object  appeared  to  be  to  join  Lord  Cornwallis  ;  but  in  the  first 
instance  he  remained  quiet  at  Portsmouth  with  a  force  of  about 
three  thousand  five  hundred  men. 

"  Nothing  wall  hinder,"  wrote  Steuben  on  the  23d  of  March 
to  the  board  of  war,  "  the  enemy  to  penetrate  further  into  the 
country ;  they  will  even  be  obliged  to  do  so  for  subsistence. 
Virginia  asks  assistance,  and  a  great  part  of  the  people  expect 
it.  I  am  very  apprehensive  that  the  invasion  will  stop  all  suc- 
cor from  this  State  to  the  southern  army.  The  magazines  will 
be  exhausted,  and  all  this  merits  the  consideration  of  Congress 
and  of  our  allies."! 

Steuben's  force  was  still  so  small  that  he  could  scarcely 
take  the  precautions  indispensable  for  the  security  of  the  State. 
His  first  care  was  to  save  those  articles  which  at  so  much 

*  Greene's  letter  to  Steuben,  dated  the  3d  of  April,  1781. 
f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  415 

trouble  and  expense  had  been  collected  for  the  expedition 
against  Portsmouth.  On  this  occasion  the  State  assisted  him 
with  great  energy.  Steuben's  next  task  was  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  enemy  from  making  incursions  into  the  country, 
and  from  forming  a  junction  with  Cornwallis.  On  the  27th  of 
March  he  directed  Muhlenberg  to  collect  the  whole  of  his 
force  at  one  point,  and  to  recall  the  two  regiments  which, 
under  Colonel  Parker,  were  detached  to  the  Great  Bridge. 
No  time  was  to  be  lost,  for  if  the  enemy  were,  in  the  mean- 
time, to  send  their  new  troops,  it  would  have  been  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  execute  this  project.  Colonel  Parker,  how- 
ever, by  making  night  marches,  and  crossing  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  on  logs,  succeeded  in  effecting  a 
junction  with  Muhlenberg,  who  now  removed  to  his  old  camp 
near  Scott's,  leaving  two  regiments  at  Cooper's  Mills  and  a 
battalion  at  the  Chackatuck.  "  I  am  now,"  says  Muhlenberg, 
on  the  3d  of  April,  in  a  letter  to  Steuben,*  "  in  my  opinion,  in 
the  best  position  this  place  affords,  either  to  prevent  them 
making  incursions  into  the  country,  or  to  keep  pace  with  them, 
should  they  move  up  James  river,  which  I  am  inclined  to 
think  they  will  attempt.  Report  says,  that  Arnold  is  to 
march  by  land,  whilst  the  fleet,  with  part  of  the  troops  on 
board,  moves  up  the  river."  But  the  wiiolesale  desertion  of 
the  militia  forced  Muhlenberg  to  retire  still  further  and  higher 
up  the  country,  as  the  enemy  would  have  broken  him  up  if  he 
had  continued  within  their  reach.  Shortly  previous  to  this, 
and  just  before  the  departure  of  Lafayette,  Steuben  had  formed 
a  project  for  effectually  delivering  the  State  from  the  enemy, 
and  laid  it  before  the  Executive,  Lord  Cornwallis  being  then 
in  the  environs  of  Hillsborough,  1ST.  C.  Steuben  proposed  to 
the  government  to  march  with  the  whole  of  the  militia,  and 
by  forced  marches  cross  the  Roanoke,  and  in  conjunction  with 
General  Greene  engage  the  forces  under  his  lordship  before 
the  enemy  in  Virginia  could  have  time  to  form  any  plan.  This 
*,  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  vii. 


416  I,  I  V  B     0  W     STEUBEN. 

maneuver  he  flattered  himself  would  at  least  drive  Cornwallis 
from  North  Carolina,  and  probably,  by  obliging  General  Phil- 
lips to  follow  Steuben  with  all  his  forces,  have  removed  the 
seat  of  war  from  Virginia. 

Steuben  submitted  this  plan  to  Lafayette,  General  Wee- 
don,  and  Colonel  Gouvion,  who  approved  it.     On  his  way  to 
Richmond  he  met  Lieutenant  Colonel  Morris,  who  came  di- 
rectly from  General  Greene,  and  informed  him  that  Cornwallis 
had  already  begun  to  retire  to  Cross  Creek,  and  that  General 
Greene  wanted  a  reinforcement  to  enable  him  to  pursue  the 
British  with  vigor.     This  served  to  strengthen  Steuben's  opin- 
ion, and  as  he  had  then  upwards  of  four  thousand  militia  to- 
gether, he  confined  his  requisition  to  two  thousand  men,  whom 
he  only  required  for  thirty  or  forty  days.     The  State  govern- 
ment, which,  according  to  General  Weedon,  "  had  not  an  idea 
beyond  local  security,"*  answered  that,  although  the  proposi- 
tion seemed  to  them  to  be  founded  on  very  probable  princi- 
ples, yet,  as  the  number  of  arms  that  such  a  detachment  would 
necessarily  carry  with  them  was  greater  than   the   number 
that  would  remain  in  the  State,  it  would  be  a  measure  unjusti- 
fiable in  the  present  circumstances  of  affairs,  the  enemy  having 
lately  received  a  great  reinforcement ;  that  although  the  mili- 
tia at  present  in  service  would  be  unable  to  resist  the  whole 
force  of  the  enemy  in  any  quarter,  yet,  being  strangers  to  their 
certain  intentions,  the  militia  would  be  able  to  repel  the  in- 
cursions of  detachments,  which  otherwise  would  be  rendered 
utterly  impracticable  for  the  want  of  arms. 

Steuben,  therefore,  had  to  remain  in  Virginia.  He  re- 
paired to  Chesterfield  Court-house,  in  order  to  accelerate  the 
departure  of  the  new  levies  destined  for  the  southward,  "  My 
situation,"  he  says,  in  a  report  to  Washington,  dated  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1781,1  "  is  not  the  most  agreeable,  as  I  am  ob- 
liged to  undertake  the  defense  against  three  thousand  regular 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xi. 

f  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  by  J.  Sparks,  iii.,  291-293. 


LIFE      O  F      S  T  E  IT  B  E  N  .  417 

troops,  with  nothing  to  oppose  to  them  but  militia,  whose 
numbers  decrease  every  day.  Those  who  have  served  since 
the  beginning  of  the  invasion  have  discharged  themselves,  and 
are  not  yet  replaced  by  others,  in  consequence  of  which  Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg  is  left  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  with 
only  seven  hundred  men,  and  General  Weedon  on  the  north 
side  with  about  six  hundred  men.  If  the  enemy  have  any  in- 
tention to  penetrate  the  country,  the  opposition  which  we  can 
make  will  avail  little. 

"  A  very  great  evil  resulting  from  this  invasion  is,  that  it 
stops  the  recruiting  for  the  army.  So  long  as  a  county  has 
any  militia  in  the  field,  so  long  that  county  is  prevented  from 
drafting ;  and  as  most  of  the  counties  have  had  part  of  their 
militia  either  here  or  with  General  Greene,  little  or  nothing 
has  yet  been  done  in  the  business.  Only  fifty-two  have  yet 
come  in,  and  of  these  some  have  already  deserted.  Some  who 
came  as  substitutes  have  received  twenty-five  and  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  for  eighteen  months. 

"I  am  much  at  a  loss  what  to  do  for  arms,  when  the  re- 
cruits do  come  in.  I  had  reckoned  on  those  by  M.  De  Tilly  ; 
and  I  must  entreat  your  Excellency  to  order  them  on  by  land, 
as  we  have  not  the  least  prospect  of  a  single  musket  any  other 
way.  We  shall  also  be  much  distressed  for  ammunition. 
General  Greene  presses  me  for  a  supply,  while  I  can  scarcely 
find  enough  to  supply  the  militia.  The  marquis  has  sent  one 
hundred  thousand  cartridges  to  Fredericksburg  ;  these  I  will 
take  care  to  forward  to  General  Greene.  Your  Excellency 
has,  I  presume,  been  informed  that  the  lead  mines  have  given 
out.  This  article  is  not  now  to  be  had  here.  If  the  eastern 
States  do  not  send  us  a  supply  we  shall  be  sadly  at  a  loss. 
Powder  is  also  scarce.  A  powder  mill  near  this  was  blown 
up  some  time  since,  supposed  by  an  emissary  of  the  enemy. 
I  imagine  Maryland  would  furnish  some,  on  application  of  the 
board  of  war. 

"  Another  important  and  verv  difficult  object  is  remount 
18*  * 


418  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ing  the  cavalry.  The  Assembly  have  passed  a  law  limiting 
the  price  of  horses  for  the  cavalry  at  five  thousand  pounds — a 
price  inadequate  to  the  purchase  of  the  meanest  horse.  Very 
indifferent  horses,  which  have  been  impressed,  have  been  val- 
ued at  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  pounds,  and  upwards.* 
Nothing,  therefore,  can  possibly  be  done  till  the  meeting  of 
the  Assembly.  The  southern  army  will  require,  at  least,  three 
hundred  cavalry  horses  for  next  campaign.  I  suppose  thirty 
guineas  to  have  been  the  old  price  of  such  horses.  Allowing 
now  forty  guineas,  the  whole  will  amount  to  twelve  thousand 
guineas.  The  price  must  be  limited,  or  the  Continent  will  not 
be  able  to  pay  the  expense  of  remounting  two  regiments  of 
cavalry. 

"  I  beg  your  Excellency's  directions  for  my  guide  in  mak- 
ing a  proper  representation  to  the  Assembly,  which  meets  on 
the  10th  of  next  month.  Swords  will  also  be  much  wanted 
for  the  cavalry.  I  have  ordered  six  hundred  to  be  made  at 
Mr.  Hunter's  works,  but  dare  not  reckon  on  them  in  time. 
Cartridge-boxes  are  an  article  the  State  can  not  furnish.  If 
possible,  two  thousand  should  be  sent  immediately  from  Phila- 
delphia. 

"  The  little  success  I  have  had  in  creating  the  line  of  this 
State,  and  in  furnishing  the  necessary  supplies  for  the  south- 
ern army,  induced  me  to  request  General  Greene  to  call  me 
to  the  army." 

Steuben  communicates  his  troubles  and  disappointments 
in  a  more  confidential  manner  to  his  friend  General  Greene, 
than  he  would  have  done  in  his  official  correspondence  with 
the  gen eral-in-chief.  Greene  appears  to  have  fully  appreciated 
his  embarrassing  situation,  and  his  letters  are  full  of  sympathy 
for  Steuben's  sufferings,  and  a  vain,  though  sincere  desire,  to 
alleviate  them.  Greene's  letters  do  credit  alike  to  his  head 
and  heart,  and  are  a  convincing  proof  of  the  ability  and  fine 
feeling  of  that  noble  man. 

*  Paper  money,  of  course. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  419 

"  If  I  preferred,"  says  Steuben,  in  a  letter  from  Chesterfield 
Court-house,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1781,*  "  my  own  inclinations 
to  the  public  interest,  I  should  immediately  set  out  to  join 
you  ;  my  desire  to  act  under  your  immediate  directions,  and 
the  disgust  I  have  from  my  situation  here,  are  motives  equally 
forcible  to  urge  my  departure  hence.  I,  however,  think  it  my 
duty  to  remain  here  till  I  am  to  bring  my  first  detachment 
with  ine,  which  I  intend  shall  amount  to  five  hnndred  infan- 
try and  sixty  to  eighty  cavalry,  and  for  this  I  am  now  exert- 
ing my  utmost." 

"  I  see  and  feel,"  writes  Greene,  on  the  3d  of  April,  from 
his  camp  on  the  Deep  River,f  "  for  your  disagreeable  situa- 
tion, and  any  thing  that  is  in  my  power  to  grant  you,  you 
may  command.  But  if  you  leave  Virginia  all  things  will  run 
into  confusion,  and  I  am  so  far  from  thinking  that  you  are  dis- 
graced by  your  command  in  Virginia,  that  everybody  allows 
you  to  have  acquired  great  credit,  and  though  it  is  not  of  that 
splendid  kind,  it  is  nevertheless  very  honorable,  and  is  found- 
ed upon  the  same  line  of  conduct  irom  which  General  Wash- 
ington has  justly  acquired  so  much  honor — I  mean  that  of 
guarding  against  misfortune.  My  greatest  expectations  of 
support  are  from  Virginia,  drawn  forth  under  your  regulations 
and  arrangements.  If  you  leave  them,  State  policy  and  par- 
tial views  will  counteract  all  the  support  we  may  expect  from 
that  quarter,  and  we  shall  all  fall  together  to  the  southward. 
Nothing  in  my  power  shall  be  wanting  to  do  justice  to  your 
reputation,  and  I  feel  my  obligations  to  you  for  your  exer- 
tions. Should  you  continue  to  wish  to  join  the  army,  you 
shall  most  readily  have  my  consent,  for  I  am  greatly  in  want 
of  your  aid  here  as  well  as  there  ;  but  it  is  my  opinion  that 
you  can  be  more  extensively  useful  there  than  here." 

"  However,  my  dear  baron,"  continues  Greene  on  the  6th 
of  April,  "  when  you  consider  the  critical   and  disagreeable 
situation  I  am  in,  the  little  prospect  I  have  of  acquiring  glory, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers.  f  Greene  MS.  Papers. 


420 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 


and  the  almost  certain  disgrace  that  will  accompany  my  ma- 
neuvers, from  the  nature  and  constitution  of  our  army,  and  from 
the  many  difficulties  I  have  to  combat,  and  compare  your  situ 
ation  with  mine,  you  may  think  yourself  happy  that  you  are 
not  in  as  perplexing  a  state  as  I  am.  I  wish  both  our  pros- 
pects were  better,  but  mine,  of  all  men,  is  the  most  disagreea- 
ble. Let  us  labor,  and  faint  not ;  happily  we  may  get  through 
the  thorny  path  in  due  time,  and  by  ways  and  means  not  very 
clear  to  either  at  present." 

This  noble  appeal  to  Steuben's  ambition  and  sense  of  duty, 
had  the  desired  effect ;  he  remained  in  Virginia. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

Dark  Prospects  in  Virginia.— Steuben  almost  despairs  as  to  an  Improvement.— 
Lafayette   appointed   to   the   chief   Command   in  Virginia. — He   arrives  in 

ElCHMOND   ON   THE   29TH   OF   APRIL.— TlLL    THEN    STEUBEN   COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.— 

His  Dispositions  at  the  Invasion  of  Phillips— The  Latter  ascends  the 
James  River,  lands  on  Sandy  Point,  and  goes  as  fak  as  Petersburg.— Steu- 
ben, everywhere  hampered,  can  not  do  much.— The  Militia  does  not  arrive. 
—Steuben,  however,  opposes  Phillips1  Advance.— Steuben's  Report. — Jeffer- 
son's Acknowledgments.— Phillips'  and  Arnold's  plundering  Inroads  to- 
wards Richmond.— Lafayette  puts  a  Stop  to  them.— Phillips  retires.— Corn- 
walli8  marches  from  wilmington  into  virginia,  and  forms  a  junction  with 
Phillips  at  Petersburg.— Lafayette  goes  to  Wilton. — Steuben  on  the  Chick  - 

AHOMINY  ACCELERATES  THE  LEVY  OF  THE  RECRUITS.— HlS  LETTER   TO    GREENE  ABOUT 

his  Position  in  Virginia. — He  wants  to  join  G-reene. — The  Latter  consents  to 
his  Wish.— Point  of  Fork  the  general  Rendezvous.— Fifteen  Hundred  Re- 
cruits  ORDERED   TO   ASSEMBLE   THERE.— STEUBEN    FINDS   ONLY   TlIREE  HUNDRED  AND 

Forty. — He  provides  them  with  Arms. — He  transports  the  Magazines  to  the 
Point  of  Fork.— The  State  does  Nothing  for  the  Protection  of  its  Inhabi- 
tants   AGAINST    THE    DEVASTATIONS    OF    THE   ENEMY. — It     HAS     NO     CREDIT. — CLAI- 

borne's  sad  but  true  Report.— Negligence  in  recruiting. — General  Deser- 
tion.— Steuben  has  only  Five  Hundred  Men  under  him. — He  intends  to 
join  Greene  with  them. — His  Reasons  for  this  Plan  explained  in  a  Let- 
ter to  Lafayette.  —  He  asks  Greene  by  what  Road  he  wishes  him  to 
march  to  the  South.— Greene's  Answer  does  not  arrive.— It  is  intercepted 
on  the  Way.— Steuben  secures,  in  the  meantime,  the  Magazines  as  well  as 
possible. 

IN  the  meantime  it  became  every  day  more  apparent  that 
the  whole  South  must  be  abandoned  to  the  enemy,  and 
Greene's  army  sacrificed,  if  he  were  not  speedily  reinforced. 
The  clouds  hanging  over  Virginia  were  growing  darker  and 
darker ;  and  even  Steuben  seems  to  have  become  somewhat 
discouraged.  On  the  11th  of  April  he  wrote  to  General  Hand, 
then  adjutant  general  of  the  army,  as  follows  :  "  I  wish  it  was 
in  my  power  to  give  you  a  pleasing  account  of  affairs  in  this 
part  of  the  continent ;  bujt  indeed  every  thing  is  gloomy,  very 
little  in  our  favor,  and  appearances  entirely  against  us.  How- 
ever, we  must  do  and  suffer  ;  and   if  by  any  means  we  may 


422  LIFE      OF      ST  B  V  B  E  N 

obtain  the  prize  we  fight  for,  the  price   can   scarcely  be  too 
great."* 

The  apprehended  junction  of  Phillips  with  Cornwallis 
proved  the  danger  of  delay,  and  determined  Washington  to 
order  Lafayette,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1781,  to  march  to  the 
South,  and  put  himself  under  the  orders  of  General  Greene, 
who  appointed  him  to  the  chief  command  in  Virginia. 

Notwithstanding  his  forced  marches,  and  every  possible 
exertion,  it  took  Lafayette  fully  three  weeks  to  reach  Rich- 
mond, where  he  arrived  on  the  29th  of  April.  Steuben,  there- 
fore, continued  to  hold  the  command  in  the  State,  and  if  not 
crowned  with  success,  he  at  least  had  the  satisfaction  to  prove 
on  the  occasion  of  Phillips'  invasion,  that  even  the  militia 
could  be  disciplined  into  soldiers,  and,  when  properly  led, 
make  an  honorable  stand  against  the  English  regulars.  Im- 
mediately after  the  arrival  of  Phillips  in  Virginia,  Steuben 
made  the  following  disposition  of  his  forces  :f 

"  Should  the  enemy  penetrate  into  the  country,  the  whole 
militia  will  turn  out,  receive  all  the  spare  arms  and  be  em- 
bodied in  battalions,  regiments,  or  detachments,  as  General 
Muhlenberg  thinks  proper.  Should  the  enemy  dislodge  Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg  from  Broadwater,  his  retreat  will  be  Peters- 
burg, whence  his  movements  must  be  such  as  to  enable  him 
to  keep  the  upper  country.  Should  the  enemy  direct  his  march 
toward  North  Carolina,  General  Muhlenberg's  corps  will  still 
endeavor  to  keep  their  right  flank  at  the  same  time ;  the  troops 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  will  follow  the  enemy  and  march 
in  the  rear.  In  case  the  enemy  should  move  up  James  river 
so  far  as  Richmond,  General  Muhlenberg's  first  movements 
will  still  be  to  Petersburg,  and  from  thence  the  further  move- 
ments of  the  enemy  will  regulate  and  determine  his  move- 
ments. 

"  The  corps   under  General  Nelson  will  consist  of  eight 
*  Muhlenberg's  Life,  by  H.  A.  Muhlenberg,  Philadelphia,   1849,  pp.  285 
and  246. 

f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiv. 


LIFE      OF      STEU  B  E  N"  .  423 

hundred  men  infantry,  and  as  many  horses  as  can  be  collected, 
should  the  enemy  land  below.  .  .  .  *  river.  This  corps  must 
cross  said  river  and  govern  his  retreat  and  movements  as  those 
of  the  enemy  may  make  it  necessary.  But  as  soon  as  the 
enemy  lands  at  the  south  side,  General  Nelson's  corps  must 
endeavor  to  cross  James  river  at  the  most  convenient  place, 
in  order  to  follow  their  march  in  the  rear.  Should  the  enemy 
come  up  by  the  way  of  York  river,  General  Nelson's  corps 
must  act  according  to  circumstances  in  order  to  annoy  the 
enemy.  As  the  fort  at  Hood's  is  not  in  a  state  of  defense,  and 
our  force  in  the  field  not  sufficient  to  make  the  .necessary  re- 
sistance so  low  down  the  river,  the  stores  and  arms  from  Prince 
George  Court-house  are  directed  to  be  carried  to  Peters- 
burg." 

General  Phillips,  after  having  fortified  himself  at  Ports- 
mouth, on  the  lGth  of  April  ascended  James  river.  He  em- 
barked his  men  in  twenty-five  flat-boats,  each  of  which  carried 
one  hundred  men.  Muhlenberg,  agreeably  to  Steuben's  orders, 
had  previously  removed  all  the  stores  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  from  the  lower  parts  of  the  State  to  Prince  George 
Court-house  ;  but  even  this  place  was  too  near  James  river  to 
be  secure  as  a  depot.  Steuben,  therefore,  thought  it  prudent 
to  remove  them  still  further  into  the  country  beyond  Rich- 
mond. At  the  same  time  Colonel  Innes  had  packed  the  pub- 
lic stores  on  the  left  side  of  the  river,  and  held  them  in  readi- 
ness for  removal  at  a  minute's  warning.  On  the  18th  of  April 
the  British  fleet  came  opposite  the  mouth  of  Pagaa's  Creek. 
Muhlenberg,  in  order  to  keep  ahead  of  the  enemy  and  to  ad- 
vise Steuben  of  their  movements,  on  the  19th  broke  up  his 
camp  at  Broadwater,  and  marched  via  Wall's  Bridge  to  Cabin 
Point,  while  the  enemy  proceeded  on  the  20th  to  Jamestown, 
and  the  next  day  landed  at  Sandy  Point.  Steuben  had  fixed 
the  rendezvous  of  the  cavalry  at  Petersburg,  and  ordered  the 
other  troops  to  retire  before  any  superior  force  toward  Rich- 
*  Left  blank  in  the  original.     Probably  the  Chickahominy. 


4  2  4  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

mond.  He  was  at  this  time  at  Chesterfield  Court  house,  and 
engaged  in  forming  a  corps  of  cavalry,  and  in  removing,  with 
the  assistance  of  Davies,  the  stores  from  Powhattan  Court- 
house to  Cumberland  old  Court-house  and  the  Point  of  Fork. 
On  the  23d  the  enemy  arrived  at  Westover,  where  two  hun- 
dred armed  and  three  hundred  unarmed  militia  were  unable 
to  offer  any  effective  resistance.  Thus  the  enemy  was  able  to 
commit  considerable  depredations.  The  number  of  the  militia 
in  the  field  being  too  small  to  offer  battle,  Steuben  ordered 
his,  officers  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  the  risk  of  a  general 
action,  which  .would  inevitably  have  led  to  a  defeat.  He,  there- 
fore, thought  it  best  to  harass  the  enemy  by  small  detach- 
ments, which  could  easily  retreat,  when  beaten,  to  some  place 
of  rendezvous.  "The  militia,"  writes  Steuben,  on  the  21st 
of  April,  1781,  from  Chesterfield  Court-house,  to  Washington 
and  the  board  of  war,*  "  come  in  very  slowly.  Arms  will  be 
wanted  for  them  and  swords  for  the  artillery  that  might  as- 
semble. The  battery  at  Hood's  is  not  half  finished ;  every 
thing  is  in  the  same  confusion  as  when  Arnold  came  up  the 
river.  There  is  not  a  single  company  of  regular  troops  in  the 
State,  and  the  militia  are  too  inexperienced  to  hope  for  the 
least  resistance  from  them." 

On  the  24th  of  April  the  enemy  reached  City  Point  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Appomatox  into  James  river,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Petersburg.  Steuben  had  left  Chesterfield  Court- 
house on  the  2 2d,  from  which  place  he  had  directed  the  re- 
moval of  the  stores  and  the  movements  of  the  troops,  and 
went  down  to  Petersburg,  where  he  took  the  command  of  the 
American  forces.  As  some  doubts  are  entertained!  whether 
Steuben  was  present  at  the  ensuing  engagements,  we  think  it 
best  to  insert  here  the  report  which  Steuben  made  to  Wash- 
ington and  Greene,  about  the  affair  near  Petersburg,  and 
which  proves  that  he  and  not  Muhlenberg  commanded  the 
Americans  on  that  occasion. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii.  \  Muhlenberg's  Life,  p.  247. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  425 

"  On  the  24th,'-  be  writes  on  the  road  from  Petersburg  to 
Chesterfield  Court-bouse,  ten  miles  from  Petersburg,  on  the 
25th  of  April,*  "I  reconnoitered  the  enemy's  fleet,  then  lying 
off  Westover,  and  consisting  of  thirteen  topsail  vessels  and 
twenty-three  flat-bottomed  boats  full  of  men.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  troops  on  board  I  judged  to  be  about  two  thousand  five 
hundred ;  a  Hessian  sergeant  who  deserted  to  us  made  them 
three  thousand.  The  fleet  of  the  enemy  soon  came  to  sail  and 
stood  up  the  river  toward  City  Point,  wThich  continued  to  keep 
me  in  doubt  on  which  side  they  would  debark.  I,  therefore, 
ordered  the  militia  under  command  of  General  Muhlenberg 
to  retire  to  the  vicinity  of  Blandford.  The  same  evening  the 
enemy  landed  all  their  force  at  City  Point,  which  fully  evinced 
that  their  first  object  was  Petersburg.  Being  obliged  to  send 
large  detachments  to  the  neck  of  land  between  Appomatox 
and  James  rivers,  I  had  not  more  than  one  thousand  men  left 
to  oppose  the  enemy's  advance.  In  this  critical  situation  there 
were  many  reasons  against  risking  a  total  defeat — the  loss  of 
arms  was  a  principal  one  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  to  retire  with- 
out some  show  of  resistance,  would  have  intimidated  the  in- 
habitants and  encouraged  the  enemy  to  further  incursions. 
This  last  consideration  determined  me  to  defend  the  place  as 
far  as  our  inferiority  in  numbers  would  permit.  I  made  choice 
of  Blandford  as  the  place  of  defense,  and  the  bridge  of  Poca- 
hontas as  our  retreat ;  the  troops  were  disposed  accordingly 
and  passed  the  night  under  arms. 

"  The  morning  of  the  25th  I  was  informed  that  the  enemy 
was  within  three  miles  of  our  advanced  posts,  and  that  elev- 
en flat-bottomed  boats,  with  troops,  were  at  the  same  time 
moving  up  Appomatox  river.  Towards  noon  the  enemy  came 
in  sight,  formed  themselves  and  displayed  to  their  left ;  but  it 
was  near  three  o'clock  before  the  firing  commenced,  which 
continued  from  post  to  post  till  past  five  o'clock,  when  the  su- 
perior number  of  the  enemy  and  a  want  of  ammunition  obliged 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii.,  and  Greene  Papers. 


426  L  IFE     OF     S  T  E  U  B  I  N  ■. 

me  to  order  the  retreat,  and  the  bridge  to  be  taken  up,  which 
was  executed  in  the  greatest  order,  notwithstanding  the  fire 
of  the  enemy's  cannon  and  musketry.  The  troops  with  the 
same  good  order  retreated  to  this  place,  where  they  are  just 
encamped. 

"  I  am  not  yet  able  to  ascertain  our  loss,  but  believe  it  not 
great.  I  do  not  think  the  enemy  took  a  single  prisoner.  The 
enemy's  loss  I  am  also  unable  to  form  any  judgment  of. 

"  General  Muhlenberg  merits  my  particular  acknowledg- 
ments for  the  good  disposition  which  he  made,  and  the  great 
gallantry  wTith  wmich  he  executed  it.  Indeed  the  gallant  con- 
duct of  all  the  officers,  and  the  particular  good  behavior  of 
the  men,  must,  I  am  persuaded,  have  attracted  the  admiration 
of  the  enemy.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  say  that  our  troops  dis- 
puted the  ground  with  the  enemy  inch  by  inch,  and  the  ma- 
neuvers were  executed  with  the  greatest  exactness." 

Jefferson,  on  the  26th  of  April,  congratulated  Steuben  on 
"  this  initiation  of  our  militia  into  the  business  of  war,"  and 
found  Steuben's  opinion  justified,  that  the  more  the  militia 
were  employed  in  a  small  way,  the  more  contented  they 
would  remain,  and  the  more  they  would  improve.  In  his  let- 
ter-to  Washington,  on  the  9th  of  May,  1781,*  he  said  that, 
"  The  enemy  was  received  by  Steuben" — mind,  not  by  Muh- 
lenberg ! — "  with  a  body  of  militia,  somewhat  under  one  thou- 
sand, who,  though  the  enemy  were  two  thousand  three  hundred 
strong,  disputed  the  ground  very  handsomely  two  hours,  du- 
ring which  time  the  enemy  gained  one  mile  only,  and  that  by 
inches." 

"I  am  happy,"  says  Greene,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1781,  in 
reply  to  Steuben's  report,!  "that  you  came  to  so  judicious  a 
determination  of  not  hazarding  a  general  action,  and  yet  not 
permitting  the  enemy  to  advance  without  considerable  oppo- 
sition. Your  report  of  the  good  conduct  of  General  Muhlen- 
berg, and  the  troops  under  his  command,  affords  me  great 
*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  iii.,  p.  308.  f  Greene  MS.  Papers. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN, 


427 


pleasure,  and  claims  my  entire  approbation.  This  spirited  op- 
position will  have  a  most  happy  effect  upon  their  future  opera- 
tions." 

Phillips,  after  having  destroyed  the  vessels  lying  in  the 
river  at  Petersburg,  and  burned  the  tobacco  warehouses,  pro- 
ceeded to  Chesterfield  Court-house,  where  he  continued  his 
work  of  devastation.  Arnold  pursued  a  similar  course  near 
Warwick,  and  having  set  tire  to  all  the  tobacco  magazines, 
soon  after  joined  Phillips  in  Manchester,  opposite  Richmond. 
It  was  their  chief  design  to  capture  this  latter  place,  because 
it  was  of  importance  as  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  the  key 
to  the  strategical  operations  in  the  interior  of  Virginia.  Steu- 
ben alone  was  too  weak  to  keep  the  city  against  the  attack  of 
the  united  forces  of  Arnold  and  Phillips.  All  depended  upon 
the  arrival  of  Lafayette,  who  might  be  expected  at  any  mo- 
ment. Fortunately  he  arrived  in  time,  and  as  he  was  soon 
joined  by  about  two  thousand  militia,  the  enemy  did  not  dare 
to  cross  the  river,  which  was  at  that  time  without  a  bridge. 
Laf  lyette  took  up  a  position  at  a  point  above  the  falls  of  James 
river,  at  which  all  the  boats  had  been  collected,  and  assumed 
the  chief  command  of  the  American  forces  in  Virginia,  while 
Phillips,  on  the  2d  of  May,  slowly  descended  the  river,  and 
halted  opposite  Cobham,  where  his  movements  were  closely 
watched  by  Lafayette. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  Phillips,  while  still  below  Burwell's 
Ferry,  was  informed,  by  a  dispatch  from  Lord  Cornwallis,  that 
he  was  on  his  march  to  Virginia,  and  that  he  intended  to  form 
a  junction  with  him  at  or  near  Petersburg.  Lord  Cornwallis, 
after  having  arrived  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  at  once  understood 
that  little  or  nothing  could  be  done  against  the  enemy  from  this 
remote  place,  and  that  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  no  deci- 
si? e  blow  could  be  struck.  He  therefore  eagerly  seized  the  ad- 
vantage which  Phillips'  arrival  in  Virginia  opened  to  him,  and 
resolved  to  march  across  North  Carolina,  and,  after  having 
joined  Phillips,  to  effect  a  junction  with  Clinton.     He  remained 


428  LIFE     OP      STEUBEN, 

only  eighteen  days  in  Wilmington,  to  rest  his  army,  and  on 
the  24th  of  April  commenced  his  march  northward.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  daring  and  noble  enterprises  during  the  whole 
war,  and  deserves  the  admiration  of  both  friend  and  enemy. 
When  the  orders  of  Cornwallis  reached  Phillips,  the  former 
was  in  Halifax,  some  seventy  miles  from  Petersburg.  Phillips 
ascended  the  river  again,  and  landed  his  forces  at  City  Point, 
whence  he  marched  towards  Petersburg.  Lafayette,  who 
had  received  the  same  news  of  the  approach  of  Cornwallis, 
tried  to  prevent  a  junction  ;  but  he  came  too  late,  and  on  the 
9th  of  May  Phillips  entered  Petersburg  unmolested.  This 
British  general  died  on  the  13th,  and  Arnold  had  the  tem- 
porary command,  when,  a  week  after,  Cornwallis  arrived  in 
Petersburg,  and  took  the  command  of  all  the  British  forces  in 
Virginia.  Lafayette,  thus  defeated  in  his  design,  recrossed 
James  river,  and  established  himself  at  Wilton,  some  twenty 
miles  below  Richmond,  on  the  north  side  of  that  stream  ;  but 
Lord  Cornwallis,  on  the  24th,  followed  him,  crossed  the  river 
at  Westover,  and,  being  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  two  Brit- 
ish regiments  and  two  Anspach  battalions,  drove  Lafayette 
towards  the  back  country. 

The  first  object  of  Cornwallis  was,  of  course,  to  beat  La- 
fayette ;  his  next,  to  destroy  such  of  the  enemy's  stores  as 
might  be  within  his  reach  after  the  American  army  had  been 
either  defeated  or  obliged  to  retire.* 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  follow  in  detail  the 
movements  of  Lafayette,  except  so  far  as  they  were  connected 
with  Steuben,  who  remained  with  him  as  long  as  there  was 
any  probability  of  coming  to  action.  While  Phillips  lay  in 
the  river,  Steuben  commanded  the  militia,  and  formed  the 
rear  of  the  American  forces  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  at  N"ew  Kent  Court-house  and  Bottom  Bridge ;  but 
when  the  approach  of  Cornwallis  became  certain,  and  when 
his  operations  carried  the  American  forces  too  far  from  their 
*  Stedraan,  History  of  the  American  War,  ii.,  430. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN".  429 

rendezvous,  he  exclusively  devoted  his  time  to  accelerate  by 
his  presence  the  levy  of  the  recruits  for  the  South,  to  protect 
the  stores,  and  regulate  their  supply  on  and  near  James  river, 
beyond  Richmond. 

"  When  the  marquis  arrived,"  says  Steuben,  in  a  letter  to 
Greene,  dated  Carter's  Ferry,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1781,*  "  I 
looked  on  myself  discharged  from  attending  the  operations  in 
the  field,  the  more  especially  as  he  had  three  brigadiers  under 
him.  I  therefore  again  turned  my  attention  to  collecting  and 
equipping  the  recruits,  and,  with  the  marquis's  consent,  fixed 
the  general  rendezvous  at  Albemarle  barracks.  We  have  as 
yet  only  four  hundred  and  thirty  recruits  assembled,  unarmed, 
unequipped,  and  without  clothes,  nor  do  I  expect  above  four 
hundred  more.  All  the  south  side  of  James  river,  and  those 
counties  on  the  north  side,  which  lay  near  the  coast  or  river, 
are  not  obliged  to  draft  their  levies  so  long  as  they  have  any 
militia  in  the  field.  If,  therefore,  the  enemy  continues  here, 
near  two  thirds  of  the  State  will  not  furnish  any  recruits.  In 
fact,  if,  with  our  greatest  efforts,  we  get  a  thousand  men  from 
Virginia,  it  will  be  the  utmost. 

"  Notwithstanding  this,  my  care  to  keep  together  and 
equip  the  few  we  have  got,  has  not  failed  to  draw  on  me  the 
censure  of  many  of  the  great  men  here,  who  pretend  that 
these  recruits  ought  to  be  sent  immediately  into  the  field,  and 
relieve  so  many  of  the  militia ;  other  wise  men  ridicule  the 
distance  from  the  enemy  to  which  I  have  sent  them,  while 
their  respective  plantations  are  exposed. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  desertion  that  prevails  among 
the  recruits  equals  that  of  the  Virginia  troops  with  you.  I 
despair,  my  dear  general,  of  ever  seeing  a  Virginia  line  exist. 
Every  thing  seems  to  oppose  it ;  wdth  all  the  trouble  I  can 
take  I  find  it  impossible  to  assemble  either  officers  or  men, 
and  even  wrhen  a  few  are  got  together,  I  hear  of  nothing  but 
of  furloughs  for  the  officers,  and  of  the  desertion  of  the  men. 
*  Greene  MS.  Papers. 


430  LIFE      OP      STEUBEN. 

The  few  recruits  we  have  are  formed  into  a  regiment,  under 
Colonel  Gaskins.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  are 
armed.  I  shall  order  them  in  a  couple  of  days  to  the  fork  of 
the  river,  which  will,  in  some  measure,  gratify  the  people  by 
protecting  their  magazines,  which  are  all  assembled  at  that 
place,  and  they  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  disciplined  and 
equipped  there.  I  shall  also  send  some  officers  to  Albemarle 
barracks,  to  receive  the  recruits  that  may  be  sent  in  from  the 
other  rendezvous,  to  equip  them  and  send  them  on  to  join  the 
regiment  at  the  Fork. 

u  Having  completed  these  arrangements,  I  shall  join  the 
marquis  till  I  receive  your  orders,  and  I  must  give  you  notice, 
that,  from  the  many  difficulties  which  daily  occur,  and  of 
which  I  have  mentioned  only  a  small  part,  my  presence  in 
this  State  has  become  entirely  useless.  I  shall,  with  great 
pleasure,  fly  to  put  myself  under  your  more  immediate  com- 
mand, and  I  beseech  you,  my  dear  general,  to  call  me  as  soon 
as  possible,  for  never  was  a  man  more  disgusted  than  I  am  at 
the  conduct  and  proceedings  in  this  quarter." 

A  few  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Steuben  received 
one  from  General  Greene,  of  the  1st  of  May,  in  which  he  an- 
ticipated Steuben's  desire  to  join  him,  and  gave  him  the  fol- 
lowing directions  :* 

"  The  Marquis  De  Lafayette  writes  me  that  he  is  ordered 
to  Richmond  with  his  detachment,  agreeable  to  my  applica- 
tion. This  will  afford  me  an  opportunity  of  indulging  your 
wishes  in  joining  the  army.  And  it  is  my  wish  that  you 
should  march  with  all  the  Virginia  drafts  that  are  fit  to  take 
the  field  as  soon  as  you  can.  General  Wayne,  I  am  told,  is 
on  the  march  for  this  army  with  the  Pennsylvania  line.  You 
will  please  to  write  him  to  follow  as  soon  as  possible.  Our 
situation  requires  immediate  support.  I  beg  you  to  get  the 
best  state  of  the  stores  you  can,  and  bring  with  you,  and 
write  to  the  board  of  war  our  deplorable  condition  respecting 
*  Greene  MS.  Papers. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  431 

arms.  Unless  a  new  supply  can  be  had,  or»  larger  armories 
established  for  their  repairs,  we  can  not  keep  the  field.  I  beg 
you  to  take  every  possible  measure  to  improve  both.  Bring 
forward  also  the  cavalry  with  you  that  is  fit  for  duty,  ours  be- 
ing much  broken  down,  and  the  enemy  having  more  than  two 
to  our  one,  and  should  we  meet  with  another  defeat,  and  the 
enemy  have  a  superior  body  of  horse,  nothing  less  than  total 
ruin  must  follow.  You  will  please  to  furnish  the  marquis 
with  the  best  information  you  can  respecting  the  state  of 
things  in  Virginia.  I  find  myself  so  beset  with  difficulties 
that  I  need  the  counsel  and  assistance  of  an  officer  educated 
in  the  Prussian  school,  and  I  persuade  myself  I  shall  have  in 
you  both  the  friend  and  the  general  I  want." 

Steuben  immediately  communicated  this  letter  to  Governor 
Jefferson  and  Lafayette  at  an  interview  in  the  council  cham- 
ber at  Richmond,  and  as  the  barracks  at  Chesterfield  Court- 
house had  been  burnt  by  the  enemy,  and  as  the  situation  was 
no  longer  proper  for  the  rendezvous  of  the  troops,  he  men- 
tioned to  the  governor  the  necessity  of  fixing  on  some  place 
less  exposed,  where  he  might  collect  the  recruits,  equip  and 
form  them;  and  with  the  consent  of  Lafayette,  Albemarle 
barracks  was  agreed  on  for  the  place.  As  the  governor  had 
said  that  those  counties  who  bad  militia  in  the  field  would  not 
proceed  to  draft,  Steuben  asked  him  what  would  be  the  num- 
ber of  the  recruits  of  those  counties  that  were  not  so  circum- 
stanced ?  "  About  fifteen  hundred  men,"  answered  Jeffer- 
son, in  the  presence  of  Lafayette.  All  that  had  been  col- 
lected at  that  time  were  three  hundred  men  at  Manchester, 
badly  armed  and  worse  clothed.  Steuben  determined,  there- 
fore, that  they  should  march  immediately  to  Albemarle  bar- 
racks, to  be  clothed  and  equipped  for  the  field  ;  that  the  other 
recruits  should  join  them  as  soon  as  they  came  in,  and  that  af- 
terward they  might  join  General  Greene  or  the  marquis,  as  cir- 
cumstances might  require.  Orders  were  accordingly  given  to 
them  to  march  by  way  of  Carter's  Ferry.    The  day  after,  Steu- 


432  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ben  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Davies,  in  which  he  repre- 
sented that  Albemarle  barracks  was  a  very  improper  place  on 
many  accounts ;  that  a  great  difficulty  would  occur  in  trans- 
porting provisions  there  ;  that  there  was  no  wood  near  it,  and 
that  the  barracks  were  nearly  destroyed.  He  pointed  out  the 
fork  of  James  river  as  the  most  proper  place.  "  Many  articles 
for  the  equipment  of  the  troops,  were,"  he  said,  "  already 
there ;"  and  he  promised  to  make  every  necessary  arrange- 
ment for  the  reception  of  the  troops  at  that  place.  On  this 
letter,  Steuben  joined  Lafayette  at  Wilton,  and  he  having  no 
objection,  the  Point  of  Fork  was  determined  on.  The  mar- 
quis desired  him  to  repair  there  to  hasten  the  equipment  of 
the  fifteen  hundred  recruits  whom  they  expected,  and  who 
were  to  join  either  General  Greene  or  Lafayette. 

On  his  arrival  at  the  Fork,  Steuben  found,  however,  that 
not  more  than  five  hundred  and  forty  men  had  yet  come  in, 
and  of  these  a  great  number  were  unfit  for  the  service.  They 
were  without  arms  and  clothing,  and  badly  equipped,  and 
every  day  diminished  in  number  by  desertion  and  sickness. 
It  was  with  difficulty  that  they  were  provided  with  arras, 
which  had  just  arrived  from  Philadelphia. 

While  Steuben  was  thus  occupied,  Lord  Cornwallis  crossed 
James  river,  and  Lafayette  retreated  up  the  country. 

The  principal  part  of  the  Continental  stores  was  then  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  at  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte  and 
Halifax  Court-houses  ;  those  of  the  State  were  dispersed  every- 
where, and  a  great  part  of  them,  by  order  of  the  government, 
were  deposited  at  the  Point  of  Fork.  The  retreat  of  Lafay- 
ette induced  Steuben  to  represent  to  the  agent  and  to  the 
commissioner  of  the  State  the  necessity  of  removing  them 
higher  up  into  the  mountains.  He  told  them  that  the  troops 
were  by  no  means  destined  to  guard  the  stores,  but  that  he 
should  remove  them  as  circumstances  might  direct.  The 
greater  part  of  the  stores  was  accordingly  removed,  and 
those  which,  by  the  negligence  of  their  own  officers  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  were  very  inconsiderable 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  433 

In  general,  all  the  preparations  for  the  protection  of  the 
State  against  the  enemy  continued  as  insufficient  as  ever.  All 
the  departments  were  in  disorder,  which  increased  to  the  high- 
est degree  when  the  Executive  and  Legislature,  at  the  approach 
of  Cornwallis,  moved  hurriedly  from  Richmond  to  Charlotte- 
ville.  The  enemy  seemed  more  determined  to  destroy  prop- 
erty than  to  fight.  The  forces  which  were  left  to  protect  the 
stores  were  so  inefficient  and  careless,  that  at  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  enemy  they  would  have  been  lost.  At  Prince 
Edward's  Court-house,  for  instance,  all  the  officers  and  inspect- 
ors superintending  the  stores,  laboratories,  etc.,  wTere  absent 
when  Steuben  sent  an  officer  to  look  at  them.  The  guards 
there  were  without  an  officer,  and  only  a  few  militia  present 
under  the  command  of  a  tavern  keeper.  For  wTant  of  wag- 
ons the  stores  there  could  scarcely  be  removed,  and  upwards 
of  fifteen  hundred  arms  were  unfit  for  service.  Only  two  men 
had  been  employed  by  the  State  for  the  repair  of  arms  since 
January,  and  there  was  no  hope  of  any  abatement  of  this 
shameful  neglect. 

The  government  had  to  furnish  arms  and  wagons,  horses 
and  drivers,  and  all  the  necessary  means  for  the  defense  of  the 
State ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  get  any  material  assistance 
from  the  powerless  commonwealth.  The  officers,  who  pledged 
their  personal  credit  for  meeting  the  present  exigencies,  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  people  when  they  could  not  pay  on  ac- 
count of  the  failure  of  the  State,  and  instead  of  the  support 
which  they  expected  from  the  public,  they  received  only  exe- 
crations for  their  sacrifices.  The  noble  Claiborne,  deputy 
quarter-master  for  the  State,  who,  as  he  justly  remarked  of 
himself,  had  made  it  his  study  and  practice  to  promote  the 
public  interest,  tried  in  vain  to  protect  the  State  against  the  evil 
consequences  of  this  carelessness.  "  It  gives  me  much  concern," 
he  writes  to  Steuben,  from  Richmond,  on  the  18th  of  May,* 
"  to  assure  you,  that  what  I  have  repeated  to  you  a  long  time 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii. 
19 


434  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

since  lias  really  come  to  pass.  For  want  of  material  from  the 
merchants,  and  security  at  our  posts  contiguous  to  navigable 
rivers,  all  the  manufactories  that  I  had  established  are  so  un- 
fixed and  broken  up  that  I  get  little  or  nothing  from  them.  I 
have  never  been  able  to  get  any  leather  worth  mentioning  from 
the  commissioner  of  hides  in  this  State.  Private  trade  is  broken 
up,  and  I  am  without  money.  I  have  made  every  trial  in  my 
power  to  procure  horses  and  every  thing  else,  by  certificates, 
and  employing  gentlemen  of  interest  and  influence  ;  but  they 
assure  me  that  there  is  such  a  general  dissatisfaction  and  sus- 
picion among  the  people,  that  they  are  determined  not  to  suf- 
fer themselves  to  be  deceived  any  longer  by  being  connected 
with  contracts  on  public  account.  I  can  assure  you,  sir,  that 
faith  in  general  among  the  people  towards  the  public  is  totally 
lost,  and  that  nothing  is  to  be  had,  unless  necessity  obliges 
them  to  it,  without  cash,  or  some  personal  private  obligation 
is  rendered  to  them." 

Nevertheless  it  was  evident  that  if  the  military  stores, 
which  Davies  had  been  laboring  to  collect  for  many  months, 
were  not  at  once  transported  beyond  Carter's  Ferry,  they  would 
have  been  lost,  and  the  whole  wealth  of  the  State  could  never 
have  replaced  them  ;  nay,  the  only  dependence  for  General 
Greene's  army  would  have  been  almost  totally  cut  off.  The 
loss  of  these  stores  would  have  proved  the  loss  of  the  whole 
country. 

"  Faults  in  war,"  remarks  Steuben  on  this  occasion,  "  sel- 
dom go  unpunished,  and  this  State  now  feels  the  effects  of  its 
indolence.  With  a  formidable  enemy  in  the  heart  of  their 
country,  they  are  destitute  of  arms,  or  any  of  the  resources 
necessary  for  their  defense." 

The  same  improvidence  prevailed  in  regard  to  the  recruits. 
Of  the  three  thousand  expected  in  February  from  Virginia, 
only  five  hundred  had  come  in  on  the  18th  of  May,  and  that 
was  only  two  days  before  Cornwallis'  junction  with  Arnold ! 
"Captain  Reed  informs  me,"  writes  Davies,  on  the  24th  of  May, 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  435 

to  Steuben,*  "  that  he  has  received  but  seven  soldiers,  two  of 
whom  have  deserted  ;  that  it  is  uncertain  when  the  draft  in 
the  neighboring  counties  will  take  place,  and  that  indeed  he 
does  not  know  from  what  counties  the  men  are  to  come  who 
are  to  rendezvous  there.  Major  Posey  writes  from  Stanton, 
that  of  deserters  and  others  he  has  collected  twenty-one  ;  that 
no  draft  has  yet  taken  place  in  any  of  the  back  counties,  nei- 
ther could  he  inform  me  when  it  would,  as  the  people  are 
much  averse  to  it,  and  in  Augusta  and  Rockbridge  have  pre- 
vented it  by  force.  He  says  he  has  a  deserter  or  two  deliv- 
ered to  him  every  five  or  six  days,  and  expects  to  send  a  com- 
pany of  them  down  in  a  short  time." 

Steuben  had  formed  his  five  hundred  men  in  a  battalion, 
under  Colonel  Gaskins,  which  he  disciplined  and  equipped 
with  the  utmost  dispatch.  He,  at  the  same  time,  sent  ex- 
presses to  all  the  rendezvous  to  forward  immediately  all  the 
recruits  they  had.  He  consulted  with  Lafayette  and  deter- 
mined to  join  Greene  with  what  recruits  he  had,  expecting  to 
be  able  to  equip  them  towards  the  end  of  May.  "  It  is  cer- 
tain, my  dear  marquis,"  he  writes  from  Point  of  Fork,  on  the 
20th  of  May,  1781,f  "  that  if  General  Greene  does  not  receive 
other  reinforcements  than  mine,  the  handful  of  men  whom  I 
can  take  with  me,  he  will  not  be  very  formidable.  I  have  but 
five  hundred  and  fifty  men  collected,  and  no  hopes  that  their 
number  will  be  increased,  unless  I  defer  my  departure  for  a 
fortnight ;  but  if  Lawson  could  join  me,  if  perhaps  North  Caro- 
lina could  make  an  effort,  our  force  would  probably  be  a  little 
more  respectable.  Bat  be  it  as  it  may,  I  am  of  opinion  that 
my  five  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  even  if  I  had  a  thousand, 
joined  to  those  under  your  orders,  would  never  prevent  Lord 
Cornwallis  from  going  wherever  he  pleases;  but  the  five  hun- 
dred men  who  pass  James  river  with  me,  will  probably  oblige 
him  to  send  a  detachment  after  me,  or  at  least  to  observe  me. 
By  such  a  detachment  his  force  against  us  would  be  dimin- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii.  f  Ibidem,  vol.  xii. 


436  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

ished,  and  his  plan,  I  dare  say,  a  little  deranged.  The  letter 
of  General  Greene  to  Lawson,  by  which  he  summons  him  to 
the  South,  is  of  the  12th  instant.  I,  therefore,  do  not  doubt 
that  at  that  time  he  was  already  informed  of  the  maneuver  of 
Cornwallis.  But  suppose  even  that  it  was  not  the  case,  as  long 
as  we  can  carry  on  the  war  in  the  Carolinas,  the  South  is  not 
conquered.  This  is  my  opinion,  and  I  confess,  that  if  it  de- 
pended upon  me,  I  would  not  postpone  my  departure  for  the 
South  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  I  regret  extremely  that 
I  can  not  collect  all  the  necessaries  as  quick  as  I  wish.  I  have 
arms,  but  no  cartridge-boxes.  I  expect  to-day  a  little  ammu- 
nition and  a  few  blankets,  shoes  and  shirts.  That's  all  I  can  ex- 
pect from  the  State.  Thus  I  hope  to  be  able  to  march  hence 
within  five  or  six  days.  I  propose  to  pass  the  Roanoke  at  two 
places.  The  troops  will  probably  cross  at  Taylor's  Ferry,  and 
the  baggage  a  little  higher  up.  I  am  so  fully  convinced  that 
my  appearance  on  the  other  side  of  James  river  will  annoy 
Lord  Cornwallis,  that  I  am  most  impatient  to  get  awny." 

On  the  26th  of  May,  Steuben  informed  Greene,  from  Albe- 
marle Court-house,  of  his  approaching  march  for  the  South. 
"In  obedience  to  your  orders,"  he  says,*  "I  have  been  here 
since  the  21st,  assembling  the  recruits  and  preparing  them  for 
the  march.  About  five  hundred  are  now  together,  and  to- 
morrow I  expect  about  sixty  more.  This,  I  believe,  will  be 
all  I  shall  be  able  to  bring  with  me,  except  about  thirty  of 
Armand's  corps,  whom  I  am  endeavoring  to  equip.  The  arms 
from  Philadelphia  I  expect  here  to-day.  But  they  are  without 
cartridge-boxes.  I  have,  however,  some  old  ones,  and  some 
hopes  to  receive  some  from  Fredericksburg.  The  confusion 
into  which  every  thing  has  been  thrown  in  this  State,  makes 
it  extremely  difficult  for  me  to  collect  those  articles  which  are 
necessary;  but  be  assured,  my  dear  general,  that  nothing 
shall  be  left  undone  to  hasten  my  march.  I  shall  not  wait  for 
coats,  I  only  desire  shoes,  overalls,  shirts  and  blankets.     Not- 

*  Greeuo  MS.  Papers. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  437 

withstanding  this,  I  shall  be  happy  if  I  get  off  from  here  the 

4th  or  5th  of  June I  must  beg  you  to  determine  by 

what  route  I  shall  join  you." 

Steuben  proposed  to  employ  his  time  in  better  securing 
the  military  stores  of  the  State,  until  his  men  were  in  readi- 
ness to  commence  their  march.  He  hoped  to  receive,  in  the 
meantime,  another  letter  from  Greene,  as  this  general,  when 
he  wrote  his  last,  on  the  1st  of  May,  was  ignorant  of  Corn- 
wallis'  moving  towards  Virginia,  and  of  his  subsequent  con- 
junction with  Arnold,  and  as  since  that  maneuver  the  aspect 
of  affairs  had  much  changed  in  this  State. 

But  no  new  orders  from  Greene  arrived ;  they  were  inter- 
cepted by  the  enemy. 


CHAPTER    XXI 


The  State's  Magazines  at  the  Point  of  Fork. — Steuben's  Measures  for  saving 
them.— His  Letter  to  Lafayette.— Steuben  complains  of  his  isolated  Position, 
and  of  the  desperate  Condition  of  his  Men.— Movements  of  Cornwallis  and 
Lafayette.— The  Latter  joined  by  Wayne.— The  Former  6ends  Tarleton 
against  cliarlotteville,  and  slmcoe  against  steuben,  who  has  only  flvb 
Hundred  Men  under  him. — Major  Call's  inexact  Report  to  Steuben  about 
the  Destination  of  the  Enemy.— Steuben  transports  Stores  and  Baggage  to 
the  right  Bank  of  the  River. — His  Men  not  reliable. — Simcoe,  on  his  Arri- 
val at  the  Point,  finds  the  Magazines  on  the  other  Bank  of  the  River.— 
Steuben  hastens   his    Retreat. — Simcoe's   Stratagem. — A  Part  of  the  Stores 

FALLS   INTO   THE    HANDS   OF   SlMCOE.— STEUBEN'S   LETTERS  TO  GOVERNOR   NASn   AND 

Lafayette. — His   Motives  for  his  Retreat    to  Willis'   Creek. — Is   strongly 

ASSAILED    FOR    HIS    RETREAT.— SlMCOE's   AND     Lee's   ACCOUNT.— TlIE  LOSS   GREATLY 

exaggerated.— Statements  of  Lafayette,  H.  Lee,  and  Langboene— Davies' 
Letter.— Steuben's  Measures  for  securing  the  Magazines  in  the  Interior  of 
the  State.— He  marches  to  Cole's  Ferry  and  summons  the  Militia.— His  Proc- 
lamation to  the  People,  and  Requisition  from  Governor  Nash.— Steuben 
receives  at  Elizabeth  Court-IIouse  the  first  indirect  News  from  Greene.— 
Greene's  Letters  intercepted  by  the  Enemy. — Greene  directs  Steuben  to 
join  Lafayette  against  Cornwallis.— Steuben's  characteristic  Letter  to 
Captain  Kirkpatrick. — Steuben  marches  back  to  James  River  to  join  Lafay- 
ette.— Lafayette's  Letter  of  the  13th  of  June. — Cornvvallis  in  Richmond. — 
Steuben  effects  his  Junction  with  Lafayette  on  the  19th  of  June.— Corn- 
walli8  evacuates  richmond  and  goes  down  to  the  coast. — affair  near 
Jamestown. — Lafayette  almost  annihilated. — Cornwallis  fortifies  himself, 
first  in  Portsmouth,  afterwards  in  Yorktown  and  Gloucester.— Washington 
and  the  French  Army  and  Fleet  arrive  from  the  North. — Cornwallis  be- 
sieged.— Steuben,  after  his  Junction  with  Lafayette,  Sick.— Goes  into  the 
Country  near  Charlotteville. — Greene  orders  him  to  march  for  the  South. 
—Steuben's  Answer  of  the  18th  of  August.— Steuben  remains  in  Virginia. 
— He  goes  to  Williamsburg. — His  Letter  to  Greene. — His  happiest  Time  in 
America. — Operations  before  Yorktown. — Steuben  receives  the  Command  of 
a  Division. — Is  the  only  American  Officer  ever  present  at  a  regular  Siege. — 
He  opens  the  second  Parallel. — Wayne  his  Brigadier. — Anecdotes. — Dis- 
pute between  Steuben  and  Lafayette. — Steuben  commands  in  the  Trenches 
when  Cornwallis  offers  to  capitulate.— Anecdote  of  Captain  De  Kalb. — 
Description  of  the  Capitulation  by  an  Eye  Witness. — Close  of  the  Cam- 
paign. 

rpiIE  greater  part  of  the  stores  of  the  State,  with  the  ar- 
■*■  tillery,  was  still  at  the  Fork,  where  they  were  by  no 
means  safe,  considering  the  superiority  of  the  enemy.  Steuben 
ordered  all  the  boats  to  be  sent  up  from  Richmond  to  the 
Fork,  to  secure  the  communication  across  the  river.     On  the 


LIFE      OF      STEU  I!  E  N"  .  439 

29th  of  May  he  took  up  a  position  at  the  Fork,  and  covered 
the  removal  of  the  stores.  "  Here  I  am,"  writes  Steuben  on 
the  3d  of  June,  1781,  to  Lafayette,*  "with  five  hundred  and 
fifty  men  in  a  desert,  without  shoes,  shirts,  and,  what  is  still 
worse,  without  cartridge-boxes.  I  write  everywhere,  send  ex- 
presses to  all  parts  of  the  world,  but  I  receive  no  answer.  If 
I  did  not  expect  Lawson,  with  a  reinforcement,  I  would  go 
to  Charlotteville  to  sing  a  jeremiad  to  my  sovereign  masters. 
Please  let  me  have  news  from  you.  I  am  here  as  I  would  be 
in  Kamschatka ;  I  do  not  know  where  you  are  nor  what  has 
become  of  Cornwallis.,, 

To  Mr.  Cary,  Speaker  of  the  State  Senate,  he  wrote  on  the 
same  day  detailing  his  troubles,  and  complaining  loudly  of  the 
desperate  condition  of  his  men : 

"The  object  of  the  present,"  he  says,f  "is  to  acquaint  you 
of  the  condition  of  the  men  now  collected  here.  Most  of 
them  arrived  destitute  of  every  article  of  clothing.  On  my 
orders  all  the  shoes,  shirts  and  other  things  in  the  public 
stores  were  distributed  among  them.  It  is  painful  to  me  to 
see  the  number  of  sick  men  increasing  every  day,  although 
this  is  only  the  natural  consequence  of  their  being  exposed  to 
the  wet  without  even  the  most  necessary  clothing.  Frequent 
desertions  are  another  consequence  of  this  circumstance.  The 
soldier  who  would  be  willing  to  lose  his  life  in  battle,  objects 
to  being  sacrificed  to  misery  and  destitution. 

"  As  concerns  the  particular  articles  of  clothing,  I  expected 
to  find  here  shirts,  shoes,  overalls,  linen,  jackets  or  hunting 
shirts,  and  blankets,  all  of  which  I  was  the  more  sure  to  be 
provided  with  as  they  are  to  be  manufactured  in  the  State.  I 
would  never  have  believed  that  during  the  whole  month  of 
June  the  entire  State  of  Virginia  could  not  furnish  those 
objects  for  five  hundred  men,  being  the  sixth  part  of  the 
supply  voted  by  the  Assembly  in  the  month  of  November. 
Colonel  Gaskin's  battalion  has  been  provided  with  arms  sent 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii.  t  Tbidem. 


440  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

from  Philadelphia ;  but  there  is  not  a  single  cartridge-box  in 
store.  General  Greene  has  repeatedly  insisted,  with  me,  on 
being  provided  with  those  articles  in  our  statement  of  last 
November,  and  I  meutioned  it  several  times  to  government 
as  absolutely  indispensable.  Saddles  for  cavalry  and  cartridge- 
boxes  for  infantry  should  always  be  the  first  things  to  be 
cared  for,  as  they  need  more  time  to  be  made.  And  notwith- 
standing this  there  is  not  a  single  one  ready  in  the  whole 
State ;  nay,  I  doubt  whether  they  have  ever  been  ordered. 

"I  sincerely  request  you,  sir,  to  lay  this  before  the  honor- 
able Assembly.  It  is  disagreeable  to  dwell  on  such  a  state  of 
things;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  importance  for  me  to  be  justified 
in  the  eyes  of  that  estimable  body  and  before  the  people  of 
this  State,  lest  the  delay  before  these  troops  can  take  the  field 
be  charged  to  my  negligence.  Think  of  this  poor  body  of 
men  camping  in  the  woods,  perishing  without  seeing  the 
enemy,  without  even  being  drilled,  as  they  are  destitute  of 
shirts  and  shoes ! 

"  I  beg  most  fervently  to  ask  you,  sir,  whom  I  may  ad- 
dress, to  have  this  melancholy  state  of  things  mended  ?" 

While  Steuben  was  thus  engaged,  Cornwallis  had  pursued 
Lafayette,  and  finding  that  he  could  not  prevent  the  latter's 
junction  with  Wayne,  he  directed  his  attention  to  the  more 
attainable  object  of  breaking  up  the  Virginia  Assembly  at 
Charlotteville,  and  of  striking  a  blow  at  Steuben,  whom  he  knew 
to  be  at  the  Point  of  Fork;  To  obtain  the  first  object  he  sent 
Tarleton  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  to  Charlotteville ; 
but  only  seven  members  were  taken.  At  the  same  time  Sim- 
coe,  with  some  five  hundred  men,  was  detached  against  Steu- 
ben, and  Cornwallis,  with  the  main  body,  followed  him;  while 
Tarleton,  having  left  Charlotteville,  went  down  theRivannato 
cooperate  with  Simcoe,  if  occasion  should  require.  This  com- 
bined movement,  which  made  Steuben's  position  very  danger- 
ous, was  kept  so  secret  that  he  heard  nothing  of  it  till  the  2d 
of  June ;  and  when  he  received  intelligence  that  the  enemy 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  441 

were  at  Goochland  Court-house,  moving  up  the  river,  he 
supposed  that  Lord  Cornwallis  and  the  whole  British  army 
were  marching  against  him.  This  news,  however,  was  not  posi- 
tive. Steuben,  therefore,  only  repeated  his  orders  for  remov- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  stores  and  collecting  all  the  boats  on 
both  rivers  above  and  below  his  position,  in  order  to  cross, 
should  there  be  occasion.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  4th  of  June,  Major  Call,  of  Washington's  corps,  arrived, 
and  informed  Steuben  that  the  enemy  had  divided  his  forces 
into  two  parties,  one  of  which  had  taken  the  route  by  Louisa 
Court-house,  and  the  other  by  Goochland  Court-house  :  that 
he  had  seen  both  columns  on  their  march ;  with  difficulty 
had  escaped  being  taken.  This  report  removed  every  doubt 
of  their  intention.  Steuben,  therefore,  gave  immediate  or- 
ders for  transporting  the  baggage  of  the  troops  across  the 
river,  placed  a  picquet  of  eighty  men  on  the  point  opposite 
which  he  expected  Lord  Cornwallis  would  soon  appear  in 
order  to  engage  Steuben's  attention,  while  the  other  party 
crossed  the  north  branch  a  little  above,  in  order  to  catch  him 
between  the  two  rivers.  Steuben  then  marched  the  battalion 
on  the  road,  by  which  the  party  who,  he  expected,  would  cross 
above,  must  come,  and  waited  there  till  the  whole  of  the  bag- 
gage had  crossed.  He  left  a  picquet  of  fifty  men  on  the  road, 
and  crossed  the  remainder  of  the  battalion.  On  the  same  day 
General  Lawson  arrived  and  informed  Steuben  that  he  had 
two  hundred  and  fifty  militia,  whereof  fifteen  were  horsemen, 
who  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Steuben  ordered 
them  to  join  the  recruits,  who  were  at  that  time  reduced  to 
four  hundred  and  twenty  men.  On  the  same  evening  Colonel 
Davies  arrived  to  secure  the  State  stores,  in  which  Steuben 
gave  him  every  assistance  in  his  power.  He  unloaded  the 
wagons  of  the  regiments  and  sent  them  to  bring  away  the 
stores ;  but  this  business  was  very  illy  executed  "by  the  State 
officers. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  June,  Steuben  sent  Lieutcn- 
19* 


442  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

ant  Verdier  of  Armand's  corps  with  four  dragoons,  up  the 
road  on  the  Point  of  Fork,  to  give  intelligence  of  the  enemy's 
approach  ;  but  himself  and  party  fell  into  their  hands.  About 
ten  o'clock  he  received  intelligence  that  the  enemy  were  with- 
in four  miles  of  the  Point  of  Fork,  on  which  he  sent  Mr.  Fair- 
lie,  one  of  his  aids,  to  call  in  the  picquet.  He  executed  the 
order;  but  was  himself  taken  prisoner. 

About  noon,  while  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  Steuben  per- 
ceived the  approach  of  the  enemy.  He  afterward  learned  that 
it  Was  Simcoe  with  between  four  and  five  hundred  horse  and 
foot,  that  Tarleton  was  above  him  within  supporting  dis- 
tance, and  that  Lord  Cornwallis  was  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  about  six  or  seven  miles  below  him ;  although,  in  fact, 
Cornwallis  was  much  further  off. 

As  an  instance  of  the  reliance  that  could  have  been  placed 
in  the  men  whom  he  had  under  his  command,  Steuben  men- 
tions that  when  the  enemy  first  arrived,  they  fired  only  one 
shot  from  a  three  pounder  they  had  with  them,  and  that  a 
picquet  of  fifty  men  he  had  posted  at  the  landing,  left  their 
posts,  and  that  it  was  with  much  persuasion  and  many  threats 
they  were  brought  back  again.  Contrary  to  Steuben's  order 
a  number  of  canoes  were  still  left  in  the  north  fork,  and  con- 
sequently fell  into  the  enemy's  hands,  and  besides  that,  both 
rivers  were  at  many  places  fordable.  Steuben,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  retire  toward  Willis'  Creek,  which  he  did  as  soon 
as  it  was  dark. 

When  Simcoe  arrived  at  the  Point  of  Fork,  he  found  that 
not  only  the  stores  and  boats  were  secured,  but  that  Steuben's 
whole  force  had  crossed  the  river,  with  the  exception  of  some 
thirty  men  who,  waiting  the  return  of  some  of  the  boats,  were 
taken  prisoners.  Thus  the  principal  object  of  the  British  ex- 
pedition was  frustrated  by  Steuben's  foresight. 

The  appearance  of  Simcoe,  however,  whose  troops  Steu- 
ben, cut  off  as  he  was  from  any  communication  with  the  neigh- 
borhood, had  taken  for  the  van  of  Cornwallis,  accelerated  his 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  443 

march  to  the  South.  Simcoe,  in  order  to  make  him  believe 
that  the  main  British  army  under  Corn  wall  is  was  directed 
Ugainftt  him,  lighted  numerous  watch-fires  on  the  surrounding 
hills,  and  by  this  stratagem  confirmed  Steuben  in  his  mistake. 
A  striking  proof  of  the  fact  that  it  was  not  the  arrival  of  Sim- 
coe which  induced  Steuben  to  retreat  from  the  Point  of  Fork, 
is  furnished  by  some  letters  which  he  wrote  at  this  time. 

"  I  was  informed  by  Major  Call,  yesterday  morning," 
writes  Steuben  to  Lafayette,  from  the  south  side  of  James 
river,  one  mile  above  the  Fork,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1781,* 
"  that  he  had  seen,  himself,  a  party  of  cavalry  at  Goochland 
Court-house,  in  the  morning,  and  another  large  party  at  Lou- 
isa Court-house,  in  the  afternoon ;  the  latter,  of  at  least  one 
thousand  men  ;  that  both  parties  seem  to  direct  their  march 
this  way.  The  northern  branch  being  fordable  in  several 
places,  my  position  became  critical,  and  I  therefore  changed 
my  situation.  This  I  executed  immediately  and  came  here, 
first  crossing  the  baggage  and  a  quantity  of  State  stores  which 
were  at  Fork  Point.  I  have  since  heard  nothing  of  the  party 
which  were  at  Louisa ;  those  at  Goochland  remained  there  yes- 
terday. General  Lawson  has  joined  me  with  three  hundred 
militia,  and  we  expect  about  four  hundred  more  to  day  or  to- 
morrow. I  had  ordered  all  the  boats  below  this  place  to  be 
brought  up  ;  but  the  current  was  too  strong  to  permit  it.  I 
intend  to  move  from  here,  as  soon  as  the  weather  clears  up, 
and  take  a  position  at  the  mouth  of  Willis'  Creek,  where  I  shall 
collect  every  boat  on  the  river,  and  from  there  I  have  a  com- 
munication everywhere." 

On  the  same  day  he  informed  Governor  Nash,  of  North 
Carolina,  that  in  the  present  situation  of  affairs  he  found  it 
expedient  to  march  directly  to  that  State. 

Steuben,  therefore,  in  his  retreat  was  not  surprised  by 
Simcoe.  It  is  true,  nevertheless,  as  stated,  that  seeing  a  whole 
row  of  watch-fires  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  he  hastened 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


444  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

bis  retreat,  and  abandoned  such  of  his  stores  as  were  not  trans- 
portable. Considering,  however,  that  Steuben  had  taken  for 
granted  the  approaching  of  a  hostile  body  under  Tarleton 
against  his  left  wing,  and  that  the  advancing  of  Cornwallis 
towards  the  James  river  was  probably  intended  to  act  in  con- 
nection with  this  movement ;  bearing  also  in  mind  that  Steu- 
ben had  no  cavalry,  and  only  five  hundred  raw  recruits,  who 
had  never  seen  the  enemy — under  such  circumstances,  and  in 
such  a  situation  as  we  have  left  Steuben,  wre  can  not  only 
comprehend,  but,  moreover,  we  must  find  it  quite  natural  that 
he  preferred  sacrificing  a  part  of  his  stores  to  that  of  his  men, 
and  that  he,  in  consequence,  retreated. 

Notwithstanding,  Steuben  has  been  assailed  outrageously 
on  account  of  his  retreat,  and  particularly  by  the  government 
of  the  State.  The  joy  of  his  numerous  enemies  became  appa- 
rent when  they  discovered  one  assailable  point  in  him.  In 
the  following  chapter  we  must  once  more  return  to  this  mat- 
ter. In  order  to  view  Steuben's  conduct  strategically,  we  pro- 
pose to  examine  what  his  gallant  and,  at  this  time,  successful 
adversary,  the  British  Lieutenant  Colonel  Simcoe,  says  while 
speaking  of  his  triumph.  All  the  absurd  and  insipid  talk  of 
the  Virginia  Solons  appears  in  its  proper  light  when  we  read 
in  Simcoe's  Military  Journal  the  following  :f 

"  Lieutenant  Colonel  Simcoe,  who,  from  his  childhood  had 
been  taught  to  consider  the  military  as  the  most  extensive  and 
profound  of  sciences,  had  no  apprehension  from  the  talents  of 
such  men  as  had  been  educated  in  different  professions,  and 
w7hom  accident  had  placed  at  the  head  of  armies ;  and  he 
had  always  asserted  it  as  a  principle,  that  from  the  superiority 
of  the  king's  troops,  and  of  the  officers  wrho  led  them,  if  he 
should  ever  have  a  command  in  which  he  should  be  superior 
in  one  species  of  troops,  whether  cavalry  or  infantry,  he  would 
be  totally  unconcerned  for  the  event  of  any  action  he  might 
have  with  the  enemy.  Baron  Steuben  had  no  cavalry,  yet  in 
*  Simcoe's  Military  Journal,  p.  218-220. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  445 

the  present  situation  there  was  great  room  for  anxiety,  since 
the  immediate  ground  of  encampment  was  not  favorable  for 
the  exertions  of  his  few,  but  well  trained,  Avell  officered,  and 
invincible  body  of  cavalry,  and  the  enemy  were  led  by  a  Prus- 
sian officer.  The  very  military  instructions  of  his  king  were 
capable  of  forming  better  officers  than  any  other  theory  could 
possibly  do,  or  probably  could  be  effected  by  the  experience 
often  campaigns  under  incompetent  masters.  In  the  exercise 
also  which  he  had  given  the  rebel  army,  the  Baron  Steuben 
had  shown  himself  an  able  officer,  and  that  he  knew  well  how 
to  adapt  the  science  of  war  to  the  people  whom  he  was  to  in- 
struct, and  to  the  country  in  which  he  was  to  act.  He  had 
passed  the  Fluvanna,  but  he  had  done  this  in  consequence  of 
his  orders  to  join  General  Greene's  army.  An  express  sent  to 
countermand  this  order,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Simcoe  knew  had 
been  taken  a  few  days  before  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Tarleton, 
and  it  was  fair  to  suppose  that  he  might  now  have  further 
intelligence  ;  that  he  might  be  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
number  of  his  opponents,  and  might  possibly  determine  to 
attack  Lieutenant  Colonel  Simcoe,  as  well  as  the  detachment 
which  the  intercepted  letter  mentioned  that  he  was  preparing 
to  meet.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Simcoe  was,  therefore,  appre- 
hensive lest  Baron  Steuben,  having  secured  his  stores,  which 
were  of  great  value,  over  a  broad  and  unfordable  river,  and 
being  in  possession  of  all  the  boats,  should  repass  his  troops  in 
the  night,  higher  up  the  river,  and  fall  on  him,  so  that  if  the 
British  troops  should  be  beaten,  they  would  have  no  retreat, 
being  shut  up  between  two  rivers,  while  those  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, should  they  be  repulsed,  were  preserved  from  the  pur- 
suit of  the  cavalry  by  the  thick  woods,  which  came  to  their 
oncampment ;  and  from  that  of  the  infantry,  by  the  fatigues 
they  had  undergone  in  a  march  of  nearly  forty  miles  the  pre- 
ceding morning.  These  ideas  occupied  the  mind  of  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Simcoe,  and  he  would  have  quitted  his  camp  had  he 
not  thought  the  troops  too  much  fatigued  to  search  for  a  more 


446  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

favorable  position,  which  was  not  to  be  attained  for  some  miles, 
and  partly,  had  he  not  hoped  that  Steuben  would  believe  him 
to  be  the  advance  of  Earl  Cornwallis'  army,  particularly  as 
the  light  troops  had  no  soldiers  among  them  clothed  like  the 
seventy-first  regiment,  in  red.  That  regiment  and  the  Queen's 
Rangers  occupied  the  road  with  rail  fletches  and  other  de- 
fenses." 

Simcoe's  statement  is  confirmed  by  Henry  Lee,  who,  in 
his  Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Department  of  the 
United  States,  thus  describes  Steuben's  and  Simcoe's  move- 
ments :* 

"  Cornwallis,  with  the  main  body,  followed  on  the  route  of 
Simcoe.  The  former  officer  conducted  his  march  with  the 
utmost  secrecy ;  and  by  detaining  as  prisoners  all  whom  he 
overtook,  he  concealed  his  advance  from  the  baron.  Although 
unapprised  of  the  intended  attack  upon  his  own  post,  Steu- 
ben became  acquainted  with  the  movement  of  Tarleton.  In 
consequence  of  this  information  he  engaged  with  diligence 
in  removing  our  stores,  of  every  sort,  to  the  southern  banks 
of  the  Fluvanna ;  which  being  done  he  passed  the  river  with 
his  corps,  securing  all  the  boats  on  the  south  side.  Simcoe 
reached  the  Point  of  Fork  about  the  conclusion  of  the  baron's 
passage  over  the  river,  and  captured  a  few  of  our  troops  wait- 
ing the  return  of  some  of  the  boats.  Chagrined  at  this  dis- 
appointment, the  British  commander  determined  to  recover 
by  stratagem  what  he  had  lost  by  his  enemy's  foresight.  He 
encamped  on  the  heights  opposite  to  our  camp,  and  by  the 
number  of  his  fires  suggested  to  the  baron  the  probability  that 
the  whole  British  army  was  only  divided  from  him  by  the 
river.  Thus  impressed,  and  knowing  that  the  corps  of  Tarle- 
ton were  on  his  left,  Steuben  believed  himself  to  be  in  immi- 
nent danger,  and  decided  on  saving  his  corps  by  the  sacrifice 
of  his  stores.  During  the  night  the  baron  drew  off,  and  march- 
ing diligently,  placed  himself  thirty  miles  from  his  foe." 
*  Page  294. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  447 

Another  reproach  cast  on  Steuben  in  connection  with  this 
retreat  has  reference  to  the  loss  of  the  stores,  and  is  equally 
unjust.  We  have  two  different  statements :  one  on  the  part 
of  Simcoe  which,  adopted  by  the  State  of  Virginia  and  Sted- 
man,  says :  "  There  were  destroyed  at  the  Point  of  Fork  two 
thousand  five  hundred  stand  of  arms,  a  large  quantity  of  gun- 
powder, case  shot,  etc. ;  several  casks  of  saltpeter,  sulphur,  and 
brimstone,  and  upwards  of  sixty  hogsheads  of  rum  and  brandy, 
several  chests  of  carpenters'  tools,  and  upwards  of  four  hun- 
dred intrenching  tools,  with  casks  of  flints,  sail  cloth  and  wag- 
ons, and  a  great  variety  of  small  stores  necessary  for  the  equip- 
ment of  cavalry  and  infantry :  such  linen  and  necessaries,  as 
would  be  of  immediate  service,  were  divided  among  the 
captors.  There  were  taken  off  a  thirteen-inch  mortar,  five 
brass  eight-inch  howitzers,  and  four  long  brass  nine  pounders, 
mounted  afterward  at  Yorktown :  all  French  pieces,  and  in  ex- 
cellent order." 

Lafayette,'"  however,  relates  that  no  important  harm  was 
done  on  this  occasion  (quelques  effets  peu  importants  sont  de- 
truits) ;  Lee  mentionsf  that  most  of  the  arms  found  were  mus- 
kets out  of  repair ;  Steuben  himself,  in  a  report  to  Greene, 
says,  that  only  a  few  articles  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
through  the  negligence  of  the  commissaries  and  storekeepers. 
But  even  admitting  that  Steuben  underrates  his  loss,  we  have 
already  seen  that  before  the  arrival  of  the  enemy,  the  princi- 
pal part  of  the  stores  had  been  safely  removed.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  save  all,  and  Steuben  succeeded  in  saving  as  much  as 
possible.  That  the  buildings  and  laboratories  at  the  Fork  were 
destroyed  by  the  enemy  was  a  matter  of  course  and  a  conse- 
quence of  his  superiority  in  number.  Colonel  William  Lang- 
born  writes,  that  the  enemy  got  hold  of  only  twenty  barrels 
of  powder,  and  except  a  few  canoes,  did  not  get  a  single  boat, 

*  Memoires  du  General  Lafayette,  tome  i.,  Paris,  1838,  pp.  272  and  478. 
f  Lee's  Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Department  of  the  United 
States.     Force's  edition,  8vo,  iL,  294. 


i48  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

as  they  were  all  sunk  by  the  order  of  Steuben.  The  clothier 
stores  and  manufactories  were,  by  the  energy  of  the  indefati- 
gable Davies,  removed  to  Stanton,  from  which  place  he  writes 
to  Steuben,  on  the  23d  of  June,  as  follows  :*  .  .  .  "  The  As- 
sembly were  at  first  much  mortified  at  the  losses  we  had  sus- 
tained by  the  rapid  incursions  of  the  enemy,  and  in  their  dis- 
content wore  really  clamorous ;  they  moderate  in  their  vexa- 
tion, as  they  have  since  found  that  the  mischief  done  by  the 
enemy  was  inconsiderable  compared  with  the  plunder  of  the 
inhabitants,  of  whom  we  expect  to  recover  a  great  deal." 

After  having  effected  his  retreat  to  Willis'  Creek,  Steuben 
sent  back  an  officer  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  enemy, 
who  reported  that  on  the  morning  of  the  Gth  the  enemy  had 
constructed  two  rafts,  each  capable  of  transporting  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  men,  and  that  they  had  thrown  a  bridge  across 
the  North  Fork,  by  which  they  communicated  with  their 
forces  opposite  Elk  island. 

"  I  could  not  see,"  says  Steuben  in  a  memorial,  referring 
to  this  subject,!  "  what  could  hinder  the  enemy  from  detach- 
ing a  sufficient  party  to  disperse  my  force  and  render  them- 
selves masters  of  the  stores  at  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte  and 
Halifax  Court-houses.  I  thought  it  to  be  absurd  making  a 
bravado  with  a  small  number  of  bad  troops  against  such  a 
force,  while  the  marquis,  being  near  one  hundred  miles  off, 
could  make  no  diversion  on  that  side.  I  therefore  gave  orders 
for  dispersing  the  stores  in  such  a  manner  that  only  part  could 
fall  into  the  enemy's  hands  on  any  route  they  could  take,  and 
sent  off  three  officers  successively  to  acquaint  the  marquis  of 
my  situation.  I  wrote  circular  letters  to  the  county  lieuten- 
ants to  call  out  their  militia,  and  leaving  General  Lawson  at 
Charlotte  Court-house,  I  marched  the  recruits  to  Cole's  Ferry, 
on  the  Stanton." 

Steuben  reached  Charlotte  Court-house  on  the  9th  of  June, 
and  Cole's  Ferry  on  the  10th.  Here  he  halted  on  his  march 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii.  f  Ibidem,  vol.  xiii. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  449 

South  in  order  to  hear  further  from  General  Greene,  whose 
last  letter  was  dated  on  the  1st  of  May,  or  till  he  should  re- 
ceive orders  from  Lafayette.  As  it  did  not  appear  that  the 
enemy  proposed  to  follow  him  immediately,  he  left  the  militia 
at  Charlotte  Court-house  and  ordered  it  to  be  employed  in 
the  defense  of  the  State.  At  the  same  time  he  directed  Gen- 
eral Lawson  to  secure  the  stores,  to  remove  those  nearest 
James  river  to  Albemarle  old  Court-house,  and  to  disperse 
those  which  were  further  in  the  country,  at  different  places  in 
a  parallel  line  with  the  river,  so  that  if  the  enemy  marched  by 
one  route  to  the  South,  they  would  only  be  able  to  destroy  or 
take  what  they  found  precisely  in  their  way.  In  a  circular 
addressed  to  the  county  lieutenants,  he  appointed  Prince  Ed- 
ward, Cumberland,  and  Amelia  Court-houses,  as  the  places 
of  rendezvous  for  the  militia,  by  which  he  expected  to  increase 
his  forces,  and  endeavored  to  convince  them  of  the  necessity 
of  calling  out  every  man  that  could  possibly  be  armed.  "Let 
me  intreat  you,"  he  said,*  "  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  im- 
mediately to  get  together  every  man  in  your  county,  who 
can  possibly  be  armed,  and  in  doing  this  permit  me  to  hint  to 
you  the  necessity  of  your  own  and  your  officers'  exertions  in 
persuading  those  people  to  bring  out  their  arms,  who  do  not 
usually  bring  them  out,  and  it  will  depend  much  on  the  offi- 
cer to  convince  them  how  highly  criminal  such  negligence 
will  be  in  our  present  distress.  If  we  succeed  in  collecting 
such  a  body  of  militia  as  can  offer  resistance  to  the  enemy,  I 
have  not  the  least  doubt  that  we  shall  not  only  preserve  this 
part  of  the  State  from  their  depredation,  but  that  in  a  short 
time  they  will  be  driven  back  to  their  shipping,  and  proba- 
bly convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  conquering  a  country  de- 
fended by  freemen." 

To  be  better  secured  against  any  attempt  of  the  enemy  to 
pass  through  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  Steuben  requested 
Governor  Nash  of  North  Carolina  to  reinforce  him  with  as 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


450  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

many  of  the  armed  militia  from  the  counties  bordering  Vir- 
ginia, as  possible,  and  to  engage  as  many  horses  as  he  could 
procure,  for  the  superiority  of  the  enemy  in  cavalry  had  been 
extremely  prejudicial  to  Steuben. 

When  he  made  these  dispositions  he  was  still  without  news 
from  General  Greene,  and  as  late  as  the  9th  of  June  he  in- 
formed him,  from  Charlotte  Court-house,  that  he  was  on  his 
march  to  join  him,  with  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  recruits 
and  a  number  of  stores,  while  he  left  General  Lawson  behind 
him  with  six  hundred  militia  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
ravaging  the  country  in  small  parties.  On  the  12th  of  June 
Steuben  received  intelligence  from  General  Sumner,  that  he 
was  ordered  to  march  with  the  Carolina  line  to  Virginia  and 
join  him.  This  order  enabled  Steuben  to  form  an  adequate 
opinion  of  Greene's  position  and  intentions,  and  having  ascer- 
tained that  Greene's  force  was  sufficient  for  his  task,  and  that 
his  troops  were  more  numerous  than  he  could  support,  he 
resolved  to  return  to  James  river  and  cooperate  with  Lafay- 
ette. His  course  soon  after  proved  to  be  the  right  one,  as 
Greene's  letters  of  the  14th  and  23d  of  May,  and  some  of 
Lafayette's,  to  join  the  latter  against  Cornwallis,  had  been 
intercepted  by  the  enemy. 

At  this  time  Steuben  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Captain 
Kirkpatrick,  who  had  communicated  to  him  the  censure  of 
the  North  Carolina  gentlemen,  of  his  intended  march  south- 
ward :  "  It  is  the  fate  of  a  general  in  this  country,"  he  says,* 
"to  have  his  actions  criticised  by  every  person  without  a 
knowledge  of  either  his  reasons  or  orders.  I  am  happy  that 
my  conduct  can  bear  scrutiny.  I  have  halted  here  two  days 
waiting  for  General  Greene's  orders,  in  the  meantime  en- 
deavoring to  collect  a  sufficient  body  of  militia  to  cover  this 
side  of  James  river,  and  promising,  if  they  turned  out  with 
spirit,  I  would  venture  to  remain  in  the  State  and  join  my 
small  force  to  theirs.     My  reasons  for  marching  southward 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii.     Letter  of  Juno  12,  1781. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  451 

(as  I  find  a  general  must  give  reasons  to  every  citizen  for  his 
conduct),  were  positive  orders  from  General  Greene,  my  own 
hopes  that  my  moving  this  way  would  alarm  Cornwallis  and 
induce  him  to  detach  a  part  of  his  army  in  my  pursuit,  which 
would  be  of  more  essential  advantage  to  the  marquis  than  if 
five  times  the  number  of  my  recruits  would  join  him."* 

Steuben  arrived  at  Prince  Edward  Court-house  on  the  13th 
of  June,  and  having  ordered  General  Sumner  to  join  him  with 
all  the  men  he  could  collect,  armed  or  not,  and  having  re- 
quested Governor  Nash  to  reinforce  him  with  all  the  militia 
that  he  could  arm,  on  the  borders  of  Virginia,  he  sent  a  de- 
tachment of  the  militia  towards  Carter's  Ferry,  while  he  pro- 
posed with  the  balance,  to  take  a  position  opposite  the  Seven 
islands  in  James  river,  where  he  hoped  to  assemble  all  the 
militia  that  would  come  in. 

While  on  his  march  to  James  river,  Steuben  received 
Lafayette's  order  to  join  him  without  delay.  Lafayette  had 
retired  before  Cornwallis  as  far  as  Bacoon  Ford,  on  the  Rap- 
pahannoc ;  but  on  the  7th  of  June  he  was  reinforced  by  Gen-  ' 
eral  Wayne,  with  eight  hundred  Pennsylvanians,  and  by  a 
rapid  night  march  he  was  able  to  protect  the  stores  along  the 
Rivanna  against  an  attack  of  the  British.  Cornwallis  there- 
fore gave  up  the  pursuit  and  returned  to  Richmond.  On  his 
march  he  was  closely  followed  by  Lafayette,  who,  from  Me- 
chunck  Creek,  Albemarle  county,  on  the  13th  of  June  wrote 
as  follows  to  Steuben  : 

"  I  request  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  will  immediately  re- 
turn this  way,  and  with  the  Continentals  and  militia  under 
your  command,  hasten  to  form  a  junction  with  us.  I  am 
afraid  General  Greene's  letter  requesting  you  to  remain  with 
us  has  not  yet  got  to  hand,  but  unless  you  have  received 
orders  subsequent  to  General  Greene's  march  against  Ninety- 
six  and  Augusta,  I  can  assure  you  his  desire  was  then  to  form 
a  junction. 

*  Gates  MS.  Papers,  voj.  xix.,  p.  44. 


452  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

"Should  the  enemy  cross  the  James  river,  which  I  do  not 
believe  they  will  do,  and  which  none  of  them  have  yet  attempt- 
ed, it  must  be  with  a  view  to  reconquer  Carolina.  In  this 
case  you  would  be  in  their  way,  and  I  should  request  every 
obstruction  to  be  put  in  their  way,  as  I  shall  myself  follow 
them  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
should  they  make  the  conquest  of  this  State  their  main  object, 
our  united  force  is  not  too  much  to  resist  them.  No  news 
from  the  northward ;  it  is  reported  General  Washington  is 
coming  to  Virginia  with  French  and  American  troops,  but  I 
had  no  letter  from  him." 

Steuben  made  long  and  fatiguing  marches  to  answer  La- 
fayette's order.  As  early  as  the  16th  of  June  he  crossed 
Carter's  Ferry,  and  marching  across  Goochland  county,  on 
the  19th  effected,  in  Hanover  county,  some  twenty-five  miles 
north-west  from  Richmond,  his  junction  with  Lafayette.  This 
junction  induced  Cornwallis  to  evacuate  Richmond  and  to 
retire  to  the  lower  country.  On  the  25th  he  arrived  in 
Williamsburg,  where  he  received  an  order  from  Clinton  to 
send  a  part  of  his  troops  to  New  York,  the  British  general-in- 
chief,  from  Washington's  feints  and  sham  dispositions,  believ- 
ing that  the  latter  place  was  menaced.  The  decrease  of  his 
force  would  have  weakened  Cornwallis  too  much  to  allow  him 
to  continue  in  Williamsburg.  He  therefore,  in  conformity  with 
his  instructions  from  the  ministry,  to  establish  at  some  place 
in  the  Chesapeake  a  permanent  post  to  serve  as  a  central 
point  for  naval  and  military  operations,  resolved  to  establish 
himself  in  Portsmouth.  Crossing  James  river  at  Jamestown, 
Cornwallis  allured  Lafayette  into  an  action,  which,  only  for 
the  bravery  of  Wayne,  and  for  the  inability  of  Cornwallis  to 
pursue  his  advantage  on  account  of  the  night,  would  have 
resulted  in  the  annihilation  of  the  whole  army. 

The  troops  for  New  York  were  already  embarked  when 
Cornwallis  received  counter  orders,  and  Clinton's  permission 
to  disembark  and  keep  them  in  Virginia.    He  at  the  same  time 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  453 

was  directed  to  establish  a  defensive  post  for  the  prote-ction  of 
the  ships-of-the-line  at  a  favorable  point  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river.  Cornwallis,  finding  that  Portsmouth  would  not  answer 
the  purpose,  evacuated  that  place  and  fortified  himself  at  York- 
town  and  Gloucester,  where  his  whole  force  was  concentrated 
on  the  22d  of  August,  1781. 

In  the  meantime  "Washington  took  care  to  keep  Clinton 
under  the  belief  that  he  intended  an  attack  against  New  York. 
From  the  end  of  June  he  made  all  apparent  preparations  cal- 
culated to  fortify  Clinton's  illusions,  and  while  the  latter  pre- 
pared himself  for  a  protracted  siege,  Washington  with  his 
whole  army  and  the  French  clandestinely  left  the  Hudson,  and 
before  Clinton  even  suspected  their  departure  for  the  South, 
they  were  in  Virginia  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Corn- 
wallis. Every  thing  worked  well  in  this  enterprise.  The 
French  fleet  arrived  in  time  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  from  the 
25th  of  September,  Cornwallis  was  closely  surrounded  by  the 
American  and  French  forces.  A  retreat  was  impossible,  and 
Cornwallis,  expecting  reinforcements  from  Clinton,  strength- 
ened his  fortifications  as  much  as  possible  against  the  combined 
operations  of  the  Americo-French  army,  which,  on  the  28th 
of  September,  marched  from  Williamsburg  toward  Yorktown, 
and  on  the  1st  of  October  began  to  invest  the  latter  place. 
The  first  parallel  was  opened  in  the  night  of  the  6th  of  Octo- 
ber, and  on  the  19th  Cornwallis  capitulated  with  his  whole 
force. 

The  foregoing  sketch  of  the  principal  features  of  this  event- 
ful campaign  was  necessary  to  lead  the  reader  to  Yorktown, 
where  Steuben  resumed  active  duty. 

A  few  days  after  his  junction  with  Lafayette  he  received 
Greene's  positive  orders  to  act  with  the  Virginia  recruits  under 
the  marquis.  Thus  no  change  took  place  in  the  dispositions  of 
Lafayette ;  but  Steuben,  immediately  after  his  arrival  at  head- 
quarters, fell  sick,  and  with  a  body  worn  by  the  disease  of  the 
country,  and  a  mind  harassed  and  chagrined,  retired  to  a  couu- 


454  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

try  seat  near  Charlotteville,  where,  fortunate  in  the  society  of 
two  or  three  respectable  gentlemen,  he  remained  till  the  begin- 
ning of  September.  Here  it  was  that  at  the  end  of  July  he 
received  General  Greene's  order  of  the  18th  of  July,  to  join 
him  as  soon  as  he  could  be  spared  from  that  quarter,  even  if 
he  should  not  be  able  to  bring  a  single  man  with  him.  "  I 
have  received,"  answered  Steuben,  on  the  13th  of  August, 
1781,*  "  your  favor  of  the  19th  of  July,  in  which  I  am  ordered 
to  join  you.  If  it  had  pleased  God,  my  dear  general,  that 
this  order  had  reached  me  a  few  months  sooner,  I  should  have 
escaped  a  great  deal  of  pain  and  chagrin  ;  but  what  I  have  to 
gay  on  that  subject  shall  rest  till  I  have  the  pleasure  to  see 
you.  My  duty  and  inclination  would  have  engaged  me  to  set 
out  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  had  not  my  ill 
state  of  health  prevented  me.  An  eruption  of  blood,  which 
has  covered  my  whole  body,  obliged  me  to  retire  to  a  coun- 
try house.  It  is  near  Mr.  Walker's,  whom  you  saw  at  Phila- 
delphia, a  member  of  Congress,  and  his  father,  who  is  my  phy- 
sician. The  heat  of  the  season,  uneasiness  of  my  mind,  and 
a  thousand  other  things  have  so  used  me  up  that  I  can  not  yet 
sustain  the  fatigues  of  a  journey.  I  shall,  however,  prepare 
to  take  up  my  line  of  march  the  last  of  this  month,  and  hope 
to  join  you  before  your  operations  begin. 

"  I  can  say  nothing  to  you  on  our  affairs,  either  political 
or  military ;  a  sick  man,  you  know,  looks  on  things  worse  than 
they  really  are.  I  have  tLe  consolation  to  hope  I  shall  soon 
be  with  the  general  I  esteem  and  the  friend  for  whom  I  have 
the  strongest  affection." 

Steuben's  health  improved  toward  the  end  of  August.  He 
was  just  about  to  set  out  to  join  Greene,  when  he  heard  the 
news  of  the  arrival  of  the  French  fleet,  and  received  a  letter 
from  Lafayette,  who  intreated  Steuben  to  come  to  his  support, 
without  which  he  was  afraid  of  incurring  blame  or  of  being 
involved  in  ruin.f 

*  Greene  MS.  Papers.  f  Gates  MS.  Papers,  xix.,  p.  66. 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  455 

The  following  letters  are  given  in  full,  as  they  strikingly 
illustrate  this  important  epoch,  and  are  of  a  special  interest. 

"In  the  moment,"  writes  Steuben  to  Greene,  from  King 
Williams  county,  the  9th  of  September,  1781,*  "  of  my  de- 
parture to  join  you  I  received  the  glorious  news  of  the  arrival 
of  the  French  fleet.  The  whole  country  is  flying  to  arms.  I 
had  reason  to  apprehend  that  my  departure  at  such  a  time  as 
this  would  have  been  made  to  operate  against  me,  by  persons 
who  seek  to  destroy  the  reputation  of  every  honest  man.  You 
are,  without  doubt,  informed,  my  dear  general,  of  the  trouble 
and  vexation  to  which  I  have  been  exposed  in  this  State.  The 
greatest  sacrifice  I  can  make  to  the  public  interest,  is  to  sus- 
pend my  endeavors  for  redress  until  the  present  scene  is  fin- 
ished. To  have  quitted  the  State  before  that  period,  would 
have  armed  my  enemies  against  me.  Two  days  before  the 
arrival  of  the  fleet,  the  marquis  wrote  me  to  hasten  to  his  as- 
sistance ;  but  your  orders  and  my  wishes  to  join  you,  made  me 
decide  for  the  southward.  I  beg  you,  my  dear  general,  to 
permit  my  assisting  this  expedition  which  is  preparing.  Con- 
sidering how  small  the  number  of  your  troops  is,  I  think  my 
presence  may  be  dispensed  with  for  some  time ;  nevertheless  if 
you  judge  it  necessary,  and  should  you  think  the  motives  which 
induce  me  to  stay,  insufficient,  the  moment  I  receive  your  com- 
mands I  shall  begin  my  journey.  To-morrow  I  shall  join  the 
marquis.     I  shall  give  him  every  assistance  in  my  power." 

Lafayette  was  then  in  Williamsburg,  from  which  place 
Steuben,  on  the  19th  of  September,  wrote  to  Greene  as  fol- 
lows :f 

"  Two  days  after  joining  the  marquis  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  General  Washington  and  Count  Rochambeau.  Every 
thing  is  preparing  for  our  grand  enterprise,  and,  as  far  as  we 
have  gone,  fortune  seems  to  have  seconded  all  our  endeavors. 
The  Count  De  Grasse's  fleet  has  formed  a  junction  with  that 
of  Mr.  Barras  before  the  face  of  Graves  and  Hood  ;  two  British 
*  Greene  MS.  Papers.  f  Ibidem. 


456  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

frigates  were  taken  by  our  brave  allies,  after  which  the  ene- 
my's fleet  disappeared.  Cornwallis  is  fortifying  himself  like 
a  brave  general  who  must  fall ;  but  I  think  he  will  fall  with 
honor.  The  day  before  yesterday  General  Washington  and 
Count  Rochambeau  went  on  board  the  admiral ;  we  expect 
their  return  to-day.  Our  troops,  and  those  of  our  allies  from 
the  North,  are  expected  every  hour.  They  embarked  at  Bal- 
timore on  the  15th  instant.  As  soon  as  they  arrive,  our  oper- 
ations will  commence.  This,  my  dear  general,  is  the  decisive 
moment — the  happiest  time  I  have  spent  in  America.  Every 
advantage  appears  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  righteous  cause. 
Young  Colonel  Laurens  called  to  see  me  yesterday ;  he  is  just 
back  from  France,  and  brings  with  him  every  thing  which 
will  be  necessary  to  finish  the  Avar.  The  court  of  France  has 
answered  the  emperor  on  his  proposition  of  a  mediation,  that 
they  can  enter  into  no  negotiation  without  the  consent  of  their 
allies  ;  and  as  the  haughty  Briton  will  not  consider  this  ally  as 
an  independent  State,  the  negotiation  is  broken  off.  I  trust 
the  success  of  this  campaign  will  render  our  enemies  more 
tractable." 

When  the  operations  against  Yorktown  commenced,  Steu- 
ben asked  Washington  for  a  regular  command,  and  Washing- 
ton, with  great  pleasure,  gave  him  the  combined  division  of 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania.  It  numbered,  in  all, 
two  thousand  three  hundred  and  nine  men,  of  whom  one  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  forty-six  were  from  Wayne's  brigade, 
and  nine  hundred  and  fifty-three  from  the  brigade  of  Gist.  On 
the  3d  of  October,  1781,  according  to  a  report  made  at  that 
time,  Wayne  had  only  seven  hundred  and  thirty  men,  and  Gist 
four  hundred  and  forty-five,  fit  for  service  ;  no  less  than  six 
hundred  and  seventeen  were  sick.*  Steuben  was  the  only 
American  officer  who  had  ever  taken  part  in  a  regular  siege, 
and  he  had  acted  also  at  the  celebrated  siege  of  Schweid- 
nitz,  as  aid-de-camp  of  Frederick  the  Great.  His  services  were, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Sprague. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN 


457 


therefore,  the  more  important,  as  the  staff  of  Washington  had 
to  consult  and  act  in  common  with  the  staff  of  the  French 
army,  and  as  Steuben,  as  an  expert  in  both  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  art  of  sieges,  was  also  able,  in  this  particular, 
where  his  brother  officers  had  no  experience,  to  maintain  most 
decidedly  and  energetically  the  honor  of  the  American  arms. 

u  I  am  happy,"  writes  William  Davies,  from  Richmond,  on 
the  6th  of  October,  1781,*  "that  you  are  still  in  Virginia,  and 
I  sincerely  congratulate  you  on  the  pleasing  prospects  before 
us.  You  had  long  expressed  your  opinion  of  the  necessity  of 
more  attention  and  assistance  toward  us  from  the  northward ; 
and  I  doubt  not  that  your  representations  in  our  favor  have 
had  an  influence  in  procuring  the  aid  we  have  received." 

Of  Steuben's  activity  during  the  siege,  very  little  mention 
has  been  made.  We  only  know  that,  on  the  11th  of  October, 
he  opened  with  his  division  the  second  parallel,  and  finished 
the  same  the  next  morning,f  after  having  advanced,  during 
the  night,  within  three  hundred  and  sixty  yards  of  the  ene- 
my's batteries.  On  this,  as  on  other  occasions,  Wayne  was 
with  Steuben.  "  The  fact  is  fixed  in  my  memory,"  relates 
North,  "  by  a  circumstance  that  happened  at  the  time.  A 
shell,  thrown  from  the  enemy,  fell  near  them.  The  baron 
threw  himself  into  the  trench.  Wayne,  in  the  jeopardy  and 
hurry  of  the  moment,  fell  on  him.  The  baron,  turning  his 
eyes,  saw  it  was  his  brigadier.  'I  always  knew  you  were 
brave,  general,'  said  he,  '  but  I  did  not  know  that  you  were 
so  perfect  in  every  point  of  duty ;  you  cover  your  general's 
retreat  in  the  best  manner  possible.'  " 

"  Baron  De  Viomenil,"  says  Steuben,];  "  commanded  in  the 
trenches  on  the  10th  of  October.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  evening 
he  sent  Count  Deuxponts  to  tell  me  that  he  had  observed,  while 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii. 

f  John  C.  Hamilton :  History  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States,  New 
York,  vol.  ii.,  267. 

\  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Sprague. 

20 


458  LIFE     OF      STEUBEN, 

visiting  the  trenches,  that  ray  division  was  extremely  weak, 
and  as  it  was  probable  the  enemy  might  make  a  sortie  that 
night,  he  wished  to  reinforce  my  left  wing  from  five  to  eight 
hundred  men,  if  I  should  think  it  necessary.  In  presence  of 
General  Wayne  I  answered  Count  Deuxponts  that  I  did  not 
think  that  I  wanted  any  reinforcements,  and  that  if  the  enemy 
were  to  attack  me,  I  should  answer  for  being  able  to  hold  the 
battery  until  the  Baron  De  Viomenil  could  arrive  to  support 
me,  and  further,  that  in  case  he  Avas  attacked,  he  might  rely 
on  me  to  support  him  with  eight  hundred  men  in  two  columns. 
When  Count  Deuxponts  had  gone  away,  Wayne  remarked 
that  I  had  only  one  thousand  men  in  my  entire  division.  '  No 
doubt  of  it,'  I  replied  ;  '  that  is  my  calculation,  too,  but  if  it 
should  so  happen,  I  should,  on  my  own  responsibility,  leave 
two  hundred  men  to  defend  the  battery,  and  with  the  remain- 
ing eight  hundred  men  attack  forthwith  in  two  columns.'  I 
added  that  if  I  w^as  guilty  of  a  certain  amount  of  gasconade 
with  regard  to  the  number  of  men,  it  was  for  the  honor  of  his 
country,  whereupon  Wayne  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  address- 
ing himself  to  the  officers  present,  said  :  '  Now,  gentlemen,  it 
is  our  duty  to  make  good  the  exaggeration  of  Baron  Steuben, 
and  to  support  him  just  as  if  he  had  double  the  number  of  troops 
that  he  has.' " 

Steuben  was  so  fortunate  as  to  receive  the  first  overtures 
of  Lord  Cornwallis,  during  his  tour  in  the  trenches.  "At  the 
relieving  hour,  next  morning,"  relates  North,  "  the  Marquis 
De  Lafayette  approached  with  his  division  ;  the  baron  refused 
to  be  relieved,  assigning  as  a  reason  the  etiquette  in  Europe  ; 
that  the  offer  to  capitulate  had  been  made  during  bis  guard, 
and  that  it  wTas  a  point  of  honor,  of  which  he  would  not  de- 
prive his  troops,  to  remain  in  the  trenches  till  the  capitulation 
wras  signed,  or  hostilities  recommenced.  The  dispute  was  re- 
ferred by  Lafayette  to  the  commander-in-chief;  but  Steuben 
remained  until  the  British  flag  was  struck. 

The  capture  of  Cornwallis  closed  the  campaign. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  459 

As  there  is  not  much  known  about  the  particulars  of  the 
surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  we  think  ourselves  justified  in 
giving  the  few  facts  which  we  have  gleaned  from  the  sources 
within  our  reach,  although  they  have  no  direct  bearing  upon 
the  conduct  of  Steuben. 

Thus  at  the  storming  of  one  of  the  redoubts  of  Yorktown 
by  the  French,  on  the  14th  of  October,  the  first  French  offi- 
cer who,  at  the  head  of  the  royal  grenadiers  of  the  German 
regiment  of  Deuxponts,  entered  the  works,  was  Captain  Henry; 
De  Kalb,  a  cousin  of  the  American  general  who  fell  at  Cam- 
den. Captain  De  Kalb  had  lost  one  of  his  shoes  in  climbing 
the  parapet ;  he  nevertheless  kept  on,  and,  entering  the  fort, 
made  a  British  officer  prisoner.'* 

We  have  found  in  a  manuscript  diary  of  an  Anspach  ser- 
geant, John  Conrad  Doehla,  the  following  description  of  the 
closing  scenes  at  Yorktown  :f 

"The  19th  of  October  was  a  day  most  unfortunate  for 
England,  when  the  heretofore  so  renowned  and  valorous  gen- 
eral, Lord  Cornwallis,  was  compelled  to  surrender,  with  all 
his  troops  and  ships,  to  the  allied  French  and  American 
armies,  under  the  command  of  General  Washington  and  of 
the  Count  De  Rochambeau.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  this 
day  that  I  mounted,  for  the  last  time,  the  engineer  guard.  At 
noon  precisely  all  the  guards  and  posts  were  withdrawn  ;  only 
one  military  guard,  consisting  of  a  sergeant  and  sixteen  men, 
was,  for  an  hour  or  two  longer,  on  duty. 

"  The  capitulation  and  the  terms  for  the  surrender  were 
then  agreed  upon.  The  French  and  Americans  immediately 
occupied  all  our  works  in  the  line,  and  all  the  magazines  and 
stores.  We  were  left  in  full  possession  of  all  our  equipage 
and  apparel — nothing  belonging  to  us  was  taken,  or  even 
touched  ;  we  were  treated  with  fairness  and  respect,  as  pre- 
scribed by  the  usages  of  war.     To  speak  out  plainly,  we  were 

*  Schiller's  Leben  und  Werko  von  Emil  Pallcskc.      Berlin,  1858,  i.,  364. 
f  The  Gorman  original  is  in  the  possession  of  the  author. 


4G0  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

rather  satisfied  that  the  end  of  this  siege  had  come  at  last, 
escaping  therefrom  on  unexpectedly  favorable  terms,  while 
we  had  been  always  of  opinion  that  we  should  be  taken  by  as- 
sault. Had  it  lasted  a  few  days  longer,  a  general  storm  was 
unavoidable — the  French  grenadiers  were  already  preparing 
for  it. 

"The  troops  under  the  command  of  the  brave  general, 
Lord  Cornwallis,  and  of  General  0'IIara  of  the  horse  guard, 
were  the  following:  1,  the  third  regiment ;  2,  the  light  infim- 
tryi  consisting  of  three  battalions,  composed  of  detachments 
of  all  other  regiments — they  were  all  fine  men,  and  had  suf- 
fered particularly  during  the  siege  ;  3,  the  forty-third  regi- 
ment, also  fine  soldiers ;  4,  the  seventeenth  regiment,  which 
had  suffered  a  good  deal;  5,  the  twenty-third  regiment,  also 
weak  in  men  ;  6,  the  eightieth  regiment,  still  pretty  strong ; 
7,  the  seventy-sixth  regiment,  or  the  '  Green  Scotch,'  a  very 
strong  corps;  8,  the  seventy-first  regiment,  'White  Scotch,' 
not  strong ;  9,  a  body  of  South  Carolinian  militiamen,  called 
'  Volunteers  ;'  ]  0,  the  '  Royal  American  Rangers,'  consisting 
of  six  companies;  11,  a  regiment  of  light  horse,  or  English 
light  dragoons,  numbering  from  five  to  six  hundred  men  ;  12, 
two  companies  of  English  artillery,  each  of  sixty  men,  includ- 
ing the  engineers;  13,  a  number  of  English  'pioneers,'  or 
carpenters  and  bridge-builders ;  14,  the  marines  and  seamen, 
including  all  men  belonging  to  the  naval  service.  These  may 
be  set  down  at  fourteen  men. 

"The  German  troops  made  prisoners  of  war  were  :  1,  the 
Hessian  regiment '  Prince  Royal,'  once  strong,  but  now  a  great 
sufferer  from  death  and  desertion;  2,  the  regiment  'Von 
Bose,'  the  weakest  of  all,  having  suffered  the  heaviest  losses 
from  the  bomb  shells  and  cannon  balls  of  the  enemy ;  3,  the 
corps  of  artillery  belonging  to  these  two  regiments ;  4,  the 
Anspach  regiment,  Colonel  Von  Voit ;  and,  lastly,  the  Bay- 
reuthian  regiment,  Colonel  Von  Seybothen,  both  numbering 
about  nine  hundred  men,  and  having  had  about  forty  killed 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  461 

and  wounded,  besides  losing  fifty  deserters.  There  was  also  a 
body  of  artillery  attached  to  these  regiments,  and  at  Glou- 
cester Point  stood  a  small  body  of  Hessian  and  Anspachian 
Yagers.  The  trophies  conquered  by  the  enemy  from  these 
four  German  regiments  consisted  of  eighteen  beautiful  stand- 
ards and  eight  cannon. 

"  By  the  capitulation,  it  was  agreed  with  Lord  Cornwallis 
that  he  should  send  two  ships  with  a  secret  cargo  to  New 
York,  unmolested  and  without  search.  In  these  were  con- 
cealed many  of  the  light  infantry,  of  the  horse  guard,  rangers, 
tories  of  the  country,  besides  a  number  of  marines  and  sea- 
men ;  above  all,  however,  the  French  and  American  deserters 
who  had  joined  us  during  the  siege.  Lord  Cornwallis  him- 
self, and  Colonel  Tarleton,  embarked  on  board  these  ships  after 
the  surrender  of  the  fortress,  and  sailed  on  the  following  day 
for  New  York. 

"It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  of  October,  between 
the  hours  of  four  and  five  o'clock,  that  all  our  troops,  with 
arms  and  baggage,  standards  covered  but  drums  beating, 
marched  out  of  the  lines  and  of  the  whole  camp.  Brigadier 
O'Hara  commanded  at  the  surrender.  We  marched  on  the 
road  to  Williamsburg  in  platoons,  arms  shouldered,  through 
the  whole  army  of  the  enemy,  the  band  playing.  The  whole 
united  army  of  the  French  and  Americans  was  marched  up  by 
regiments  in  parade.  In  front  of  each  regiment  were  their 
generals  and  staff  officers.  The  French,  who  formed  the  right 
wing,  had  sometimes  richly  dressed  *  heiducks'  (fancy  ser- 
vants) in  their  suite,  who,  being  very  tall  and  handsome  men, 
presented  quite  a  dazzling  appearance  in  their  gold  and  silver- 
laced  liveries.  All  the  French  generals,  Count  De  Rocham- 
beau,  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  Count  De  Deuxponts,  and  Prince 
De  Lucerne,  wore  glittering  stars  and  badges  of  military 
orders. 

"  On  the  right  wing  of  each  French  regiment  was  gor- 
geously paraded  a  rich  standard  of  white  silk,  with  three  golden 


462  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

fleurs  de  lis  embroidered  on  it.  Beyond  these  standards  stood 
the  drummers  and  lifers,  and  in  front  of  them  the  band,  which 
played  delightfully.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  French 
troops,  altogether,  looked  very  well;  they  were  all  tall,  hand- 
some men.  They  all  wore  white  gaiters  ;  a  part  of  them  were 
clad  in  red,  some  also  in  green ;  most  of  them,  however,  were 
in  white  regimentals.  The  German,  or  Alsacian  regiments  had 
blue  regimentals. 

"  The  left  wing  of  the  line  through  which  we  had  to  march 
was  formed  of  the  Americans  ;  in  front  of  them  their  generals, 
Washington,  Gates,  Steuben,  and  Wayne.  They  were  pa- 
raded in  three  lines,  the  first  composed  of  the  regulars,  who 
had  also  a  band,  playing  moderately  well.  They  looked  pass- 
able, but  the  militia  from  Virginia  and  Maryland,  forming  the 
second  and  third  lines,  were  but  a  ragged  set  of  fellows,  and 
very  ill-looking. 

"  We,  now  prisoners  of  war,  stared  with  amazement  at  all 
these  troops,  parading  there  in  lines  three  ranks  deep.  We 
were  quite  astonished  at  the  immense  number  of  our  besiegers, 
perceiving  well  that,  compared  with  such  a  formidable  army, 
we  were  little  more  than  a  mere  guard,  and  that  they  were 
strong  enough  to  have  eaten  us  up  to  the  last  man. 

"The  lines  of  both  armies  extended  nearly  two  miles  in 
length.  Think  only  of  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  al- 
though drawn  up  in  two  lines  three  ranks  deep,  what  space  it 
must  cover!  Our  small  number  quite  puzzled  the  enemy; 
they  had  believed  we  were  much  stronger. 

"  After  having  passed  through  the  lines  of  the  armies,  we 
turned  at  the  right  upon  a  large  plain  field  or  flat,  wrhere  a  squad- 
ron of  French  hussars  had  formed  a  circle.  One  regiment  after 
the  other  had  to  march  into  this  circle,  to  lay  down  muskets 
and  all  other  arms.  When  our  colonel,  Baron  Seybothen,  had 
marched  his  regiment  into  the  circle,  he  had  us  drawn  up  in  a 
line,  stepped  in  front  of  it,  and  commanded  first,  '  Present 
arms!'  and  then,  'Lay  down  arms!'  'Put  oil'  swords  and  car 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  4G3 

tridge  boxes !'  while  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks ;  most  of  us 
were  weeping  like  him. 

"  All  the  officers  of  the  English  army  were  allowed  to  keep 
their  swords,  the  English  as  well  as  the  Germans.  This  was 
done  for  military  honor's  sake,  at  the  instance  of  the  French, 
with  whom  this  is  the  custom.  All  the  generals  and  superior 
officers  of  the  enemy  were  present  in  the  circle.  They  showed 
much  interest  towards  the  capitulating  troops,  and  above  all 
they  seemed  pleased  by  the  good  condition  and  discipline  of 
our  two  regiments. 

"When  all  was  over,  we  had  to  march  again  through  the 
two  lines  of  the  allied  armies  to  return  to  our  camp,  but  this  was 
done  in  utter  silence,  and  without  further  incumbrance,  as  the 
poor  equipage  which  we  carried  in  our  knapsacks  was  all  we 
possessed.  All  the  courage  and  spirit,  which  at  other  times 
animate  a  corps  of  soldiers,  were  extinguished,  the  more  so  as 
on  this  our  return  march  the  American  part  of  our  conquerors 
jeered  at  us  very  insultingly. 

"We  were  again  quartered  in  our  lines  and  .tents,  enjoy- 
ing, however,  full  liberty  to  walk  anywhere  in  the  lines,  as 
well  as  in  the  city.  And  I  must  say  that  the  French  behaved 
very  well  towards  us.  They  were  altogether  kind  and  oblig- 
ing. But  the  Americans,  with  the  exception  of  their  officers, 
were  strictly  forbidden  to  come  within  our  lines,  or  even  to 
enter  the  city.  The  French  grenadiers,  who  occupied  all  our 
lines,  did  not  allow  any  of  the  American  militia  to  approach  us, 
fearing,  as  they  were  at  all  times  much  addicted  to  plunder, 
they  might  not  forget  to  rob  us  also,  or  to  make  mischief,  as 
was  their  custom. 

"During  the  20th  of  October  we  remained  in  our  camp  in 
order  to  recover  a  little  from  the  hardships  and  many  sleepless 
nights  which  we  had  gone  through  during  the  siege,  and  to 
be  better  prepared  for  the  march  before  us. 

"  The  French  officers  and  seamen  visited  to-day  the  con- 
quered English  vessels,  hoisted  the  French  flag,  and  took  the 


4G4  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

English  colors  clown.  The  Americans,  on  their  side,  planted 
a  high  standard  in  Yorktown,  upon  the  '  water  battery.'  There 
are  thirteen  stripes  in  their  flag,  a  symbol  of  the  thirteen  States 
forming  the  free  North  American  '  United  States.'  A  part  ot 
the  French  and  American  troops  left  also  to-day  for  Williams- 
burg. 

"The  21st  of  October,  a  Sunday,  was  the  day  when  we 
left  Yorktown,  and  commenced  the  march  into  captivity." 

After  the  capture  of  Yorktown,  the  superior  officers  of  the 
allied  army  vied  with  each  other  in  acts  of  civility  and  atten- 
tion to  the  captive  Britons.  Lord  Cormvallis  and  his  family 
were  particularly  distinguished.  Entertainments  were  given 
in  succession  by  all  the  major  generals,  with  the  exception  of 
Baron  Steuben.  He  alone  withheld  an  invitation,  not  from 
a  wish  to  be  particular,  nor  that  his  heart  was  closed  to  the 
attentions  due  to  misfortune.  His  soul  was  superior  to  preju- 
dice, and,  as  a  soldier,  he  tenderly  sympathized  in  their  fate  ; 
while  poverty  denied  the  means  of  displaying  that  liberality 
toward  them  which  had  been  shown  by  others.  Such  was  his 
situation  when,  calling  on  Colonel  Walter  Stewart  and  informing 
him  of  his  intention  to  entertain  the  British  commander-in-chief, 
he  requested  that  he  would  advance  him  a  sum  of  money  as  the 
price  of  his  favorite  charger.  "'Tis  a  good  beast,"  said  the 
baron,  "  and  has  proved  a  faithful  servant  through  all  the  dan- 
gers of  the  wrar ;  but,  though  painful  to  my  heart,  we  must 
part."  Colonel  Stewart,  to  prevent  a  step  that  he  knew  must 
be  attended  with  great  loss,  and  still  greater  inconvenience, 
immediately  tendered  his  purse,  recommending,  should  the 
sum  it  contained  prove  insufficient,  the  sale  or  pledge  of  his 
watch.  "  My  dear  friend,"  said  the  baron,  "  't  is  already  sold. 
Poor  North  Avas  sick  and  wanted  necessaries.  He  is  a  brave 
fellow,  and  possesses  the  best  of  hearts.  The  trifle  it  brought 
is  set  apart  for  his  use.  My  horse  must  go — so  no  more,  I 
beseech  you,  to  turn  me  from  my  purpose.  I  am  a  major 
general  in  the  service  of  the  United   States,  and  my  private 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 


465 


convenience  must  not  be  put  in  the  scale  with  the  duty  which 
my  rank  calls  upon  me  imperiously  to  perform."* 

The  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis  closed  the  campaign,  and 
the  allied  armies  returned  to  the  Hudson.  Among  the  Ameri- 
can generals,  whom  the  commander-in-chief  particularly  named 
in  the  orders  issued  the  day  after  the  capitulation,  was  Steu- 
ben, with  Generals  Lincoln,  Knox,  Lafayette,  and  Duportail. 

*  Alexander  Garden :  Anecdotes  of  the  Revolutionary  War  in  America. 
Charleston,  1822,  p.  342. 

20* 


CHAPTER     XXII. 

Steuben's  Relations  with  the  State  of  Virginia  and  Lafayette.— The  Loss  op 
the  Magazines  at  the  Point  of  Fohk  made  a  Pretext  for  an  Attack  against 
htm. — His  Energy  and  Honesty  made  him  many  Enemies. — Resolutions  of  the 
Legislature  against  Steuben. — Ternant  and  Walker  write  to  him  about 
the  Suspicion  raised  against  him. — Washington  thinks  an  Inquiry  the  best 
Way  of  refuting  the  Charges  against  Steuben. — Greene's  Letter. — Even 
Lafayette  in  Favor  of  Steuben. — The  Latter  writes  to  Harrison  and  Nel- 
son to  get  his  Conduct  in  Virginia  officially  examined. — Nothing  is  done. — 
Steuben's  Relations  to  Lafayette. — Lafayette  intrigued  against  Steuben 
when  he  commenced  to  discipline  the  Army. — Probable  Reasons  for  the  Dif- 
ferences between  them.— Lafayette,  fob  political,  Motives,  appointed  as 
Commander-in-Chief  in  Virginia. — Steuben  obeys  his  Orders  without  Dis- 
pute.— Lafayette's  Self-Glorification.—  Lafayette  of  great  political  but 
not  of  military  importance  to  the  united  states. — hls  conduct  in  america 
and  in  Europe. — He  is  the  counterfeit  Washington. — His  Relations  to 
Napoleon,  the  Restoration,  and  Louis  Philip. — Steuben  owes  every  thing 
to  his  personal  value,  and  works  his  way  step  by  step.— hls  sacrifices  for 
the  American  Cause  compared  with  those  of  Lafayette. — The  Merits  of 
both  Men  in  Reference  to  the  American  Independence. 

BEFORE  following  Steuben  to  the  North,  it  is  necessary 
to  examine  the  nature  of  the  relations  in  which  he  stood 
to  the  government  of  Virginia,  as  well  as  to  the  Marquis  De 
Lafayette,  while  commanding  and  acting  in  that  State. 

It  is  chiefly  on  account  of  the  misconceptions  as  to  these 
relations  that,  regardless  of  the  merits  of  the  case,  Steuben  has 
often  been  assailed  and  condemned.  For  the  true  apprecia- 
tion of  the  matter,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  facts  is  indis- 
pensable,  and  we  consider  it  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  due  as  wrell 
to  history  as  to  Steuben,  to  detail  them  here,  uninfluenced  by 
party  bias  or  personal  prepossession ;  the  more  so,  as  not  a 
word  of  defense  has  been  spoken  in  favor  of  Steuben,  and  as 
even  those  who  appreciate  his  services  take  all  these  charges 
against  him  for  granted. 

We  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  how  the  exag- 
gerated loss  of  the  stores  at  the  Point  of  Fork  was  taken  for 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  467 

a  pretext  by  the  enemies  of  Steuben  to  assail  and  vilify  him. 
It  is  a  high  though  indirect  testimony  to  the  value  and  ability 
of  the  man,  that,  for  more  than  six  months,  they  could  not 
find  any  vulnerable  point  on  which  to  attack  him,  and  that 
they  were  forced  either  to  calumniate  him  behind  his  back,  or 
when  he  was  on  the  point  of  quitting  the  State. 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  disinterested  energy  with  which 
Steuben  performed  his  duty  in  Virginia  should  make  him  many 
enemies  there,  and  that  the  State  authorities  should  likewise 
become  greatly  irritated  against  him.  The  preceding  chap- 
ters contain  the  convincing  proof  of  either  the  inability  or  of 
the  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  provide  for 
the  defense  of  the  State,  while  Steuben  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  save  as  much  as  possible.  But  his  fault  was  that  he 
called  things  by  their  right  names,  and  that,  when  he  did  not 
find  the  same  sense  of  duty  in  others,  he  never  withheld  his 
censure.  As  he  was  a  foreigner,  peoxjle  very  often  resented  his 
just  reproaches  as  an  insult.  Lafayette,  who  caught  at  every 
thing  that  he  supposed  could  exalt  himself,  against  his  will  be- 
stows the  loudest  praise  on  Steuben,  in  writing,  on  the  23d 
of  May,  1781,  to  Alexander  Hamilton,*  that  he  is  glad  that 
Steuben  goes,  as  the  hatred  of  the  Virginians  to  him  was  truly 
hurtful  to  the  service.  Steuben  himself  knew  perfectly  wTell 
this  state  of  feeling  and  of  public  prejudice,  and  for  this  rea- 
son, almost  from  the  moment  of  his  entering  on  his  duties  in 
Virginia,  wished  to  join  Greene. 

Steuben  himself  enumerates  nine  reasons  for  the  irritation  of 
the  Virginia  government  against  himself,  namely,  that  he  insisted 
most  earnestly  on  the  completion  of  the  Virginia  line,  according 
to  the  plan  fixed  by  Congress  ;  that  he  remonstrated  against 
the  bad  rules  and  habits  of  the  militia ;  that  he  was  utterly 
dissatisfied  with  the  behavior  of  the  so-called  volunteers ;  that 
he  did  not  consent  to  the  scandalous  plundering  of  an  English 
flag-ship,  on  wThich  occasion  the  militia  officers  acted  with  such 
*  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  i.?  2G3. 


468  L  I  F  E      OF      STEUBEN. 

flagrant  disregard  of  all  subordination,  and  in  such  open  vio- 
lation of  the  law  of  nations  and  the  honor  of  the  country, 
that  they  even  intercepted  Steuben's  letters,  and  treated  him 
as  a  suspicious  character  ;  that  he  wanted,  in  the  hour  of  need, 
some  three  hundred  recruits,  to  do  service  in  the  line  instead 
of  in  the  militia;  that  he  loudly  disapproved  of  the  negligence 
and  waste  manifested  in  the  different  departments.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  best  artillery  was  under  the  direction  of  a  col- 
onel whom  Steuben  had  never  seen,  as  lie  was  traveling  as 
surveyor  in  the  upper  country.  The  head  of  the  corps  of 
engineers  was  an  old,  habitually  drunken  fellow.  The  depart- 
ment of  war  wras  managed  by  a  bankrupt  Scotch  merchant, 
who  was  always  in  the  company  of  abandoned  women,  and 
who  had  neither  knowledge  nor  application.  The  quarter-mas- 
ter general  was  at  the  same  time  prison  warden,  and  a  good-for- 
nothing  fellow.  Being  compelled  to  derive  his  resources  from 
such  men,  Steuben  got  an  insight  into  their  vileness  and  de- 
pravity, and  complained  of  their  unfitness.  All  this  created 
enemies  against  him  with  the  government  and  with  the  follow- 
ers of  these  men.  That  he  complained  of  the  want  of  repair 
of  the  arms,  of  which,  for  instance,  six  thousand  were  made 
unserviceable  by  throwing  them  in  disorder  into  a  salt-house 
and  other  wet  places ;  that  he  reproached  the  government, 
it  had  not  provided  a  single  saddle  and  cartridge-box  during 
the  whole  campaign,  notwithstanding  Steuben's  repeated  appli- 
cations from  the  time  he  entered  the  State,  and  finally  that  he 
had  a  quarrel  with  the  governor  at  the  time  of  the  expedition 
against  Portsmouth,  when  the  latter  answered  him  that  he 
could  not  furnish  any  lead  or  balls,  as  the  veins  in  the  mines 
had  been  lost,  while  Steuben  proved  that  the  government  was 
unwilling  to  comply  with  his  request,  as  with  due  diligence 
and  care  sufficient  lead  could  be  obtained. 

Nothing  could  be  said  against  this ;  but  in  all  such  cases 
the  naked  truth  always  hurts,  and  therefore  Steuben's  frank- 
ness met  with  a  very  bad  reception.     Steuben  by  his  zeal  in 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  469 

the  discharge  of  his  duties  provoked  the  petty  vengeance 
lurking  against  him  ;  but  during  the  whole  winter  no  occasion 
famished  itself  to  give  vent  to  it. 

Steuben's  retreat  from  the  Point  of  Fork  however  furnished 
the  welcome  pretext  for  an  open  attack.  The  State  Assembly 
passed  a  resolution  requesting  Lafayette  to  require  an  explana- 
tion from  the  officers  under  his  command,  relative  to  the  loss 
of  the  stores  at  the  Point.  "  I  am  sorry  to  see,"  writes  Ter- 
nant,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1781,  to  Steuben,*  "that  you  have 
enemies  in  Virginia,  and  even  men  whom  I  would  never  have 
expected  to  be  such ;  but  as  they  know  my  attachment  for 
you  they  do  not  make  me  any  confidential  communication." 

"I  saw  Ternant,"  writes  B.  Walker,  on  the  13th  of  Au- 
gust, 1781,  to  Steuben, f  "this  morning,  and  explained  fully 
the  affair  of  the  stores  being  lost,  as  I  did  also  to  General  Var- 
num.  They  both  saw  the  affair  in  quite  another  light  to  what 
it  had  been  represented.  In  fact,  from  the  clamor  they  have 
made  about  this  affair,  many  people,  I  believe,  imagined  it  in- 
cluded all  the  stores  which  the  enemy  have  taken  or  destroyed 
in  Virginia." 

"  Baron  Steuben,"  writes  Washington,  on  the  6th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1781,  to  Greene,^  "from  the  warmth  of  his  temper,  has 
got  disagreeably  involved  with  the  State,  and  an  inquiry  into 
part  of  his  conduct  must  one  day  take  place,  both  for  his  own 
honor  and  their  satisfaction." 

Notwithstanding  his  endeavors  to  get  this  inquiry  made, 
it  never  took  place.  Steuben,  however,  took  all  the  neces- 
sary steps  which  might  enable  him  to  justify  his  course.  He 
wrote  to  Greene  and  Lafayette,  who  both  expressed  their 
approbation  of  his  operations  since  he  had  been  in  Virginia. 
"Your  letter,"  answers  Greene,  on  the  17th  of  September, 
1781,§  "  of  the  13th  of  August,  gives  me  most  sensible  pain. 
I  am  sorry  that  a  mind  so  zealous  and  intent  in  promoting  the 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii.  f  Ibidem. 

%  Washington's  Writings,  viii.,  p.  175.  §  Greene  MS.  Letters. 


470  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

public  good  should  be  subject  to  chagrin  and  mortification  for 
its  well  meant  endeavors.  But  let  me  beg  of  you,  my  dear 
baron,  not  to  feel  too  sensibly  the  illiberal  attacks  of  a  mis- 
guided populace.  Merit  is  often  vailed  for  a  time,  and  the 
best  intentions  subject  to  partial  censure,  and  this  more  fre- 
quently in  republican  governments  than  any  others.  But  it 
rarely  ever  happens  that  a  man  of  worth  is  long  without  his  re- 
ward ;  for  though  society  may  mistake  for  a  time,  men  are  gen- 
erally willing  to  retract  and  approve  when  properly  informed. 
And  I  am  so  confident  of  the  propriety  of  your  conduct  and 
the  justice  of  the  people,  that  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  you 
will  see  this  verified  in  your  case." 

Lafayette,  soon  after  his  dispute  with  Steuben,  in  the 
trenches  of  Yorktown,  could  not  avoid  confirming  Greene's 
testimony. 

"I  have  been  honored,"  said  he  in  his  letter  of  the  2Gth 
of  October,  1781,*  "with  your  letter  of  this  date,  inclosing 
one  from  General  Greene.  The  high  terms  in  which  he 
speaks,  particularly  on  the  object  you  allude  to,  are  certainly 
sufficient  for  your  satisfaction,  so  that  I  would  think  it  need- 
less for  me  to  add  any  thing  to  an  opinion  for  which  I  have 

the  highest  veneration I  will,  therefore,  only  speak 

of  what  can  be  supposed  to  have  come  under  my  immediate 
cognizance. 

"In  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  I  considered  you  and 
the  new  levies  as  belonging  to  the  Carolina  army.  The  letters 
in  which  General  Greene  and  myself  were  positive  for  your 
joining  me  have  been  intercepted  by  the  enemy.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis'  intention  (as  I  have  since  still  more  particularly  as- 
certained) was  to  maneuver  me  from  a  junction  with  Wayne. 
His  endeavors  were  vain,  but  his  movements  towards  our 
stores  threw  me,  for  a  little  time,  at  a  pretty  great  distance 
from  the  enemy.  The  account  you  received  wras  given  by 
Major  Call,  whom  I  had  requested  to  watch  in  that  quarter 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii. 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  471 

the  motions  of  Lord  Cornwallis.  Your  movements  at  that 
moment  must  have  been  directed  by  the  intelligence  you 
received,  and  what  you  conceived  to  be  General  Greene's 
intentions.  I  was  happy  in  your  reunion  with  me,  and  I 
think  it  determined  Lord  Cornwallis  to  a  speedy  evacuation 
of  Richmond.  Let  me  add  that  during  all  the  time  we  served 
together  I  have  been  so  well  satisfied  with  your  assistance, 
that  I  was  only  sorry  your  health  forced  you  to  leave  the 
army,  where  your  experience  and  exertions  were  so  useful. 
Should  I  have  forgotten  any  thing  that  might  add  to  your 
satisfaction  I  will  spare  no  pains  to  convince  you  of  the  senti- 
ments I  profess  for  you." 

Nothing,  however,  was  done  in  the  matter,  by  the  State, 
which  Steuben  wished  to  get  settled  before  his  departure  for 
the  North.  "  As  my  duty,"  he  wrote  from  Williamsburg  on 
the  1st  of  November,  1781,  to  Governor  Nelson,*  "at  present 
calls  me  northward,  I  can  not  quit  this  State  without  asking 
your  Excellency  to  inform  me,  by  an  official  letter,  if  govern- 
ment have  any  complaint  against  me  since  I  have  had  the 
honor  of  serving  in  Virginia,  that  if  there  should  be  any  I  may 
justify  myself  before  my  departure.  A  reputation  acquired 
during  twenty-seven  years'  service  authorizes  me  in  this  point 
of  delicacy." 

Steuben  received  no  answer  to  this  letter,  and  as  he  wanted 
an  opportunity  to  justify  himself,  not  only  to  the  State  of 
Virginia  but  to  the  world  in  general,  he  finally  applied  to 
General  Harrison  for  a  definite  reply.  UI  could  but  be,"  said 
he  on  the  13th  of  December,  1781, f  "exceedingly  hurt  by  the 
implied  censure  passed  on  me  by  the  resolve  of  the  Assembly. 
The  State  of  Virginia  had  before  honored  me  with  a  particular 
mark  of  esteem,  and  conscious  that  I  had  exerted  my  utmost 
to  deserve  it,  I  was  unwilling  to  leave  the  State  before  I  had 
fully  justified  my  conduct.  I  accordingly  wrote  to  Governor 
Nelson,  desiring  him  to  acquaint  me  with  the  nature  of  any 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii.  f  Ibidem. 


472  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

complaint  the  State  may  have  against  me,  but  never  received 
an  answer.  I  must,  therefore,  repeat  the  same  request  to  you, 
sir.  Colonel  Davies,  General  Lawson  and  Colonel  Meade  will 
be  my  witnesses  as  to  the  propriety  of  my  conduct  at  the 
Point  of  Fork." 

"  The  resolutions  of  the  last  Assembly,"  answered  Speaker 
Harrison  on  the  28th  of  December,  1781,*  "respecting  the 
loss  of  the  stores  at  the  Point  of  Fork,  were  sent  to  the 
Marquis  De  Lafayette,  who  informed  the  present  Assembly, 
by  letter,  that  he  had  been  too  much  engaged  to  enter  on  the 
inquiry,  for  which  he  begged  their  excuse.  There  the  matter 
rests,  and  I  dare  say  will  not  be  again  taken  up." 

It  was,  therefore,  not  the  fault  of  Steuben  when  the  matter 
thus  rested.  It  is  only  another  proof  of  its  not  having  been 
near  so  dangerous  as  they  had  tried  to  make  it.  They  were 
glad  to  have  found  a  plausible  pretext  in  the  inactivity  of  La- 
fayette for  letting  the  accusation  drop. 

As  regards  Lafayette,  we  remember  that  in  February, 
1781,  when  Washington  expected  the  capture  of  Portsmouth, 
he  was  appointed,  over  the  head  of  Steuben,  to  the  chief  com- 
mand in  Virginia.  Up  to  that  time  they  had  little  to  do  with 
each  other.  Except  a  letter  wdiich  Lafayette  wrote  on  the 
12th  of  March,  1778,  during  the  Conway  cabal,  to  Steuben  on 
the  noble  character  of  Washington,  the  Steuben  Papers  and 
Lafayette's  Memoirs  contain  no  written  evidence  of  a  friendly 
intercourse  between  them.  But  a  few  months  later  Lafayette, 
with  the  Generals  Lee  and  Mifflin,  is  at  the  head  of  the  officers 
who  intrigue  against  Steuben's  reforms  in  the  army,  and  who 
succeed  in  overthrowing  the  hardly-commenced  new  order  of 
things.  Why  Lafayette  sided  with  this  clique  is  not  quite  ap- 
parent, as,  according  to  his  seniority,  he  stood  above  Steu- 
ben. A  positive  interest  is  not  likely  to  have  instigated  him, 
as  he,  as  well  as  every  other  intelligent  officer,  was  bound  to 
acknowledge  the  evil  consequences  of  the  existing  disorder. 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  viii. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  473 

It  therefore  seems  that  Lafayette  either  was  afraid  of  Steuben's 
growing  influence,  and  saw  in  him  a  dangerous  competitor,  or 
that  in  his  catching  at  popularity,  which  never  quitted  him 
until  his  death,  he  made  common  cause  with  the  other  offi- 
cers. 

Occasional  remarks  of  Steuben's  aides,  as  Walker  and 
North,  show  that  they,  as  well  as  their  general,  thought  very 
indifferently  of  Lafayette's  military  abilities.  Steuben  himself 
here  and  there  says  that  he  did  not  like  Lafayette,  and  that  he 
was  often  shocked  at  the  young  man's  unbounded  vanity  and 
his  thirst  for  glory,  which  went  so  far  as  to  claim  for  its  own  sat- 
isfaction the  merits  and  deeds  of  others.  If  we  consider,  in 
addition  to  this,  the  difference  in  the  age,  and  consequently  in 
the  views,  of  the  two  men,  the  one  being  a  plain,  matter-of- 
fact  Prussian  soldier,  the  other  a  thorough,  young  and  aspiring 
Frenchman,  we  will  easily  understand  the  want  of  mutual  at- 
traction between  them.  Besides  these  individual  differences  of 
character,  taste,  and  objects  in  life,  there  were  political  consid- 
erations, which  giving  Lafayette  greater  prominence,  tended 
to  alienate  them  from  each  other  even  more  than  nature  had 
done,  and  accorded  to  the  one  especially  a  preeminent  impor- 
tance, while  it  threw  the  other  undeservedly  into  the  background. 

When  it  was  an  ascertained  fact  that  the  French  fleet  was 
to  cooperate  with  the  American  forces  against  Portsmouth, 
Washington  acted  very  wisely  in  giving  the  chief  command 
of  them  to  Lafayette.  His  appointment  was  a  compliment 
paid  to  a  powerful  ally,  on  whose  good  will,  just  in  that  emer- 
gency, so  much  depended,  and  he,  of  course,  could  not  care  for 
hurting  the  feelings  of  another,  however  meritorious  officer, 
whose  brevet  of  major  general  was  of  more  recent  date,  and 
who  had  no  political  influence.  "  There  was  a  necessity," 
says  Washington,*  "for  sending  a  general  officer  with  the  de- 
tachment hence ;  and  political  considerations,  as  it  was  to  be 
a  combined  operation  depending  upon  critical  circumstances 
*  Washington's  "Writings,  viii.,  17. 


474  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

with  the  French  land  and  sea  force,  pointed  to  the  Marquis 
De  Lafayette."  It  was  of  course  not  at  all  desirable  for  Steu- 
ben to  leave  the  stage  just  at  the  moment  when  the  last  act 
was  being  played,  and  after  he  had,  with  indefatigable  energy 
and  endless  trouble,  prepared  every  thing  for  a  successful  re- 
sult. He  was,  on  the  other  hand,  too  good  an  officer  not  to 
obey  at  once,  and  submit,  without  complaint,  to  the  orders 
of  the  commander-in-chief.  Thus  he  formed  an  honorable  ex 
ception  to  the  general  rule  in  the  American  army,  where  the 
insubordination  of  the  superior  officers  prevailed  ;  where  even 
colonels  (for  instance  ISTeuville)  refused  to  obey  a  major  gen- 
eral; where  newly-appointed  major  generals,  like  Smnllwood, 
preferred  to  retire  rather  than  put  themselves,  notwith standing 
the  express  orders  of  the  general-in-chief,  under  the  command 
of  their  senior  officer.  Steuben  never  complained  to  Washing- 
ton, and  only  in  his  private  letters  to  Greene  alluded  to  the 
mortification  of  his  being  superseded  in  the  command,  but  ho 
says,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would  not  in  the  least  relax 
his  zeal.  In  this  respect,  also,  he  showed  himself  a  model  of 
an  old  soldier,  and  the  worthy  disciple  of  the  greatest  com- 
mander of  his  age. 

It  was,  therefore,  not  so  much  on  account  of  his  appoint- 
ment, as  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  Lafayette  exer- 
cised the  powers  conferred  on  him,  that  misunderstandings 
and  differences  between  him  and  Steuben  did  away  with  the 
good  feeling  which  subsisted  between  them  at  the  beginning. 
Lafayette  was  too  young  and  inexperienced,  and  too  greedy 
for  glory  and  show,  to  possess  the  necessary  coolness  and  im- 
partiality essential  to  the  due  performance  of  his  functions, 
and  inborn  with  great  generals  like  Washington  and  Greene. 
Pie  supposed  himself  to  be  alone  competent  to  perform  the 
task  intrusted  to  him,  and  imagined  that  he  gave  convincing 
proof  of  his  own  ability  by  criticising  and  finding  fault  with 
every  thing  that  others  had  done. 

Thus  he  writes  a  few  days  after  he  had  arrived  in  Vir- 


LIFE     OF     STETJBEN.  475 

ginia,*  that  the  enemy's  works  had  not  been  reconnoitered  by 
Steuben,  and  that  he  thought  it  necessary  to  see  with  his  own 
eyes  ;  but  he  could  not  yet  appreciate  the  reasons  which  had 
prevented  Steuben  from  examining  the  works,  and  at  the  end 
Lafayette  himself  did  not  execute  his  purpose.  On  the  other 
hand  he  did  nothing,  and  as  all  the  necessary  arrangements 
had  been  previously  made  by  Steuben,  in  which  even  Lafay- 
ette did  not  propose  any  alteration,  his  silence  must  be  taken 
for  approval,  and  his  duties  were,  therefore,  confined  to  those 
of  a  mere  looker  on.  To  Hamilton  he  wrote,  on  the  23d  of 
May,  1781  :f  "It  became  my  duty  to  arrange  the  departments, 
which  I  found  in  the  greatest  confusion  and  relaxation  ;"  and 
to  the  general -in-chief  he  reported,  that  no  departments  ex- 
isted at  the  time  of  his  ai rival,  and  that  he  had  to  establish 
them.  Aside  from  the  contradiction  contained  in  his  own 
words,  the  young  marquis  forgot  that  all  that  could  be  done 
was  already  done,  that  the  departments  were  organized  by 
Steuben  and  his  assistants,  that  he  depended  entirely  on  him 
for  information  and  advice,  and  that  at  the  same  time  he  wrote 
to  Steuben  in  the  politest  terms  to  assist  him,  as  without  him 
he  would  not  be  able  to  perform  his  duties.  In  fact,  all  he  did 
was  to  change  the  officers  with  questionable  judgment.  La- 
fayette possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  talent  of  coloring  and 
grouping,  or,  as  the  French  say,  arranging  facts.  When 
Steuben  left  him  to  join  Greene,  he  wrote  to  Washington  : 
"  The  baron  is  to  leave  me  with  the  Virginia  troops ;  Phillips, 
with  his  whole  force  joined  with  Arnold,  is  opposite  to  me ; 
Cornwallis  in  full  march  from  Hillsborough ;  it  is  too  much,  my 
dear  general,  three  armies  against  the  little  force  under  my 
command."  All  these  facts  wrere  true  in  one  sense,  but  they 
were  not  so  in  the  sense  that  the  marquis  wrished  them  to  be 
understood.     "  My  entering  this  State,"};  wrrote  Lafayette,  on 

*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  iii.,  265. 
f  Alexander  Hamilton's  Works,  i.,  263. 
\  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  iii.,  360. 


476  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

the  29th  of  July,  1781,  to  Washington,  "was  happily  marked 
by  a  service  to  the  capital ;  Cornwallis  had  the  disgrace  of  a 
retreat :"  the  same  Cornwallis  who  had  driven  Lafayette  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  before  him  in  rapid  retreat,  and  after- 
ward, for  quite  other  reasons  than  the  ibrmidablcness  of  Lafay- 
ette, retired  to  the  lower  country. 

We  will  give  one  more  instance  of  the  boastful  and  arro- 
gant character  of  the  French  lieutenant,  suddenly  sprung  into 
a  general  officer.  As  Lafayette  was  under  the  impression  that 
the  theater  of  war  would  be  transferred  from  Virginia  to  New 
York,  he  asked  a  command  under  Washington.  "The  war  in 
this  State,"  he  says,  "  would  then  become  a  plundering  one, 
and  great  maneuvers  would  be  out  of  the  question.  A  prudent 
officer  would  do  our  business  here,  and  the  baron  is  so  to  the 
utmost ;  should  the  enemy  remain  quiet  in  this  State,  Steuben 
might  do  very  well."*  This  self-sufficiency  is  really  admira- 
ble, and  gives  a  better  clue  to  Lafayette's  character  than  all 
his  memoirs  taken  together.  There  is  nothing  extraordinary 
in  Lafayette  having  conceived  the  idea  that  his  experience  as 
a  subordinate  officer  in  the  French  army,  and  as  a  dangler  in 
drawing-rooms  and  saloons,  was  superior  to  that  of  a  man 
who  had  spent  his  entire  life  in  active  military  service,  and 
had  won  considerable  distinction  on  hard  fought  fields  under 
the  ablest  and  most  distinguished  captains  of  any  country  or 
age.  But  it  is  extraordinary  that  the  American  people  should 
accord  him  any  such  superiority,  or  that  they  should  fail  to  see 
that,  while  politically  Lafayette's  accession  to  the  American 
cause  was  of  vast  importance,  in  a  military  point  of  view  a 
great  many  foreign  officers  were  immeasurably  superior  to  the 
marquis.  His  subsequent  career,  and  his  visit  to  the  United 
States,  contributed  considerably  to  increase  the  popular  enthu- 
siasm and  regard  for  him.  Enveloped  in  a  certain  romantic 
mist,  he  is  remembered  in  this  country  as  one  of  the  greatest 
heroes  of  our  modern  times.  But  history  is  no  Fourth  of  July 
*  Revolutionary  Correspondence,  iii.,  3 GO. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  477 

oration  ;  and  duty  and  justice  to  Lafayette's  cotemporaries  who 
labored  with  him,  require  that  his  position  in  the  American 
and  French  Revolutions  should  be  presented  calmly  and  im- 
partially. 

In  the  first  place,  the  part  taken  by  Lafayette  in  the  war 
of  independence  must  be  regarded  in  two  separate  points  of 
view,  namely,  the  political  and  the  military.  So  far  as  the 
first  is  concerned,  it  is  impossible  to  form  too  high  an  estimate 
of  his  importance ;  indeed  it  may  be  said,  that  were  it  not  for 
him  the  alliance  with  France  would  not  have  been  concluded, 
and  that  in  the  crisis  of  the  war,  when  every  thing  depended 
on  prompt  and  sufficient  aid  in  arms  and  money,  the  United 
States  were  chiefly  indebted  to  his  negotiations  for  their  final 
success.  In  consequence  of  his  family  connections  and  his 
relations  with  the  court  of  France,  Lafayette  was  the  most 
prominent  representative  of  that  brilliant  host  of  French  noble- 
men who,  influenced  by  veterans  like  Von  Kalb,  in  their  ha- 
tred of  England,  aud  their  new-fangled  enthusiasm  for  Rous- 
seau's imaginary  ideal  of  a  republic,  aided  in  bringing  about 
the  participation  of  France  in  the  American  war.  Lafayette 
owes  his  historical  prominence  and  his  honorable  place  in  the 
records  of  history  to  this  noble  enthusiasm  and  energetic  ac- 
tivity, while  his  deeds,  both  as  an  American  general  and  a  par- 
ticipator in  the  French  Revolution  and  the  events  which  fol- 
lowed it,  are  not  only  undeserving  of  particular  mention,  but 
are  rather  calculated  to  detract  from  than  add  to  his  renown. 

Lafayette  was  a  young  lieutenant  of  nineteen  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  America  and  offered  his  services  to  Congress. 
That  he  had  no  military  experience,  and  could  have  had  none, 
is  perfectly  manifest.  So  far  as  military  capacity  was  concerned, 
the  most  obscure  French  captain  was  more  valuable,  and  pref- 
erable to  him  ;  but  he  belonged  to  one  of  the  first  families  of 
France.  From  the  first,  Congress  saw  the  great  political  value 
to  be  derived  indirectly  from  engaging  Lafayette.  It  acted 
like  a  sharp  and  calculating  man  of  business  when  it  conferred 


478  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

on  him  the  highest  military  rank.  The  resolution  of  the  31st 
of  July,  1777,  points  out  so  clearly  the  motives  of  Congress, 
that  further  comment  is  unnecessary. 

"  Whereat,  The  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  out  of  his  great 
zeal  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  in  which  the  United  States  are 
engaged,  has  left  his  family  and  connections,  and,  at  his  own 
erpense,  come  over  to  offer  his  service  to  the  United  States, 
without  pension  or  particular  allowance,  and  is  anxious  to  risk 
his  life  in  our  cause  : 

' "  Resolved.  That  his  services  be  accepted,  and  that,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  zeal,  illustrious  family  and  connections,  he 
have  the  rank  of  major  general  in  the  army  of  the  United 
/States."* 

Congress  had  calculated  rightly.  This  resolution  tended 
mainly  to  win  France  for  the  American  cause.  "  As  soon  as 
Paris,"  says  Count  Segur,f  "rang  with  reports  of  the  first  bat- 
tles, in  which  Lafayette  and  his  companions  in  arms  had  raised 
the  reputation  of  the  French  name,  the  court  itself  became 
proud  of  his  achievements,  and  he  became  the  great  object  of 
envy  to  our  young  men.  Thus  public  opinion  declaring  itself 
more  exclusively  in  favor  of  war,  rendered  it  inevitable,  and 
drew  after  it,  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  government  which  had 
not  strength  enough  to  resist  the  impulse." 

Tf  Lafayette  had  been  the  subject  of  some  small  German 
prince,  he  would  not  have  been  worth  one  iota  more  than  one 
hundred  others,  or  any  more  considered.  His  advantage  and 
his  good  fortune  consisted  in  the  fact,  that  by  his  birth  he  be- 
longed to  the  highest  nobility  of  the  country  which  was  one 
of  the  arbiters  of  Europe  and  the  rival  of  England. 

The  above  resolution,  however,  accurately  described  La- 
fayette's position,  and  we  have  seen  that  Washington  also  re- 
garded him  as  an  instrument  to  effect  an  alliance  between  the 
two  countries.     The  admiration  and  respect  which  the  young 

*  Journals  of  Congress  (Dunlap's  edition),  vol.  iii.,  p.  303. 
f  Memoirs  of  the  Count  De  Segur,  i.,  111.     • 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  479 

marquis  felt  for  the  American  commander-in-chief  was  re- 
sponded to  by  the  latter  with,  a  heartfelt  friendship,  which 
contributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  bind  Lafayette  more  close- 
ly to  the  United  States.  Whenever  it  was  possible,  Washing- 
ton placed  Lafayette  at  the  head  of  enterprises,  which  if  they 
were  not  of  any  decisive  importance,  yet  promised  brilliant 
results.  The  young  Frenchman  discharged  the  duties  in- 
trusted to  him  neither  better  nor  worse  than  an  average  gen- 
eral officer.  His  operations  manifest  neither  great  genius  nor 
a  great  want  of  judgment.  His  chief  merit  consisted  in  the 
address  with  which  he  got  himself  out  of  difficulties. 

If  Lafayette  were  really  what  he  is  here  considered  to  have 
been,  he  had  abundant  opportunities  after  his  return  to  France 
to  fulfill  the  promises  of  his  youth.  When  the  French  Revo- 
lution commenced,  his  consequence  and  reputation  were  ex- 
ceedingly high.  He  was  one  of  the  few  who  took  part  in  the 
movement,  whose  name  was  generally  known  and  respected. 
Seldom  has  fortune  been  more  profuse  in  her  richest  favors  to 
any  man  than  she  was  to  Lafayette.  The  empire  of  the  world 
was  at  his  feet — all  parties  offered  it  to  him.  He  had  only  to 
accept,  and  hold  the  proffered  scepter.  He  did  not  possess 
that  constant  aversion  for  power,  and  that  forcible  conscientious- 
ness with  which  Washington  indignantly  refused  the  offer  of  a 
kingdom.  He  might  have  done  so,  but  he  did  not  dare  it. 
Petty  views  and  considerations,  ambition  and  intrigues,  pre- 
vented his  ever  taking  a  decided  step,  or  performing  any  great 
deed.  He  is,  on  a  small  scale,  the  Pompey  of  modern  history ; 
that  same  pusillanimous  man,  great  in  small  things  and  small 
in  great  things,  who  for  a  while  seemed  great,  because  Caesar 
had  not  yet  made  his  appearance.  But  the  original  Pompey, 
at  least  for  some  time,  occupied  a  place  by  the  side  of  Caesar, 
while  Lafayette  was  laughed  at  by  Napoleon.  Lafayette's 
ambition  was  not  that  of  a  great  character,  but  that  of  nar- 
row-minded vanity.  He,  therefore,  did  not  use  the  open  and 
great  means  of  courage,  but  the  hidden  tricks  of  intrigue. 


480  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

One  day  he  moved  the  declaration  of  the  rights  of  man,  and 
proclaimed  war  against  despotism  to  be  a  sacred  duty  ;  the 
next  day  he  intrigued  with  the  court  against  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, and  the  day  after  he  took  the  field  against  the  Revolu- 
tion with  which  he  fraternized  two  days  before.  He  allowed 
himself  to  be  bent  and  swayed  by  the  impression  of  the  mo- 
ment, allowing  circumstances  to  direct  him  instead  of  his  di- 
recting circumstances.  He  broke  with  every  one,  and  finally 
bad  no  party  to  support  him. 

r  It  is  therefore  an  ignorance  of  historical  truth  which  in- 
duces many  to  mistake  Lafayette's  weakness  for  moderation, 
and  it  is  certainly  an  unmerited  honor  to  consider  him,  as  he 
is  here  often  styled,  the  French  Washington.  Apart  from  the 
consideration,  that  in  France  a  Washington  is  as  impossible  as 
a  Napoleon  in  the  United  States,  Lafayette  is  one  of  those 
weak  aristocratic  characters  who  are  ready  to  make  any  sac- 
rifice while  it  is  so  considered  and  estimated,  and  who  are  even 
capable  of  great  sacrifices  as  long  as  outward  honor  and  glory 
are  to  be  reaped  from  it ;  but  who  are  immediately  the  ene- 
mies of  the  cause  for  which  they  have  volunteered  their  ser- 
vices, the  moment  that  their  enthusiasm  and  self-devotion  are 
regarded  as  a  matter  of  course.  His  boundless  vanity  allowed 
him  to  see  in  all  things  nobody  but  himself.  He  sided  there- 
fore with  the  Revolution  only  as  long  as  it  seemed  to  promise 
satisfaction  to  his  heartless  egotism,  and  became  its  declared 
enemy  the  moment  he  ceased  to  play  the  first  part.  He  copied 
in  France  the  simplicity  of  American  manners  and  pretensions 
without  possessing  it ;  he  copied  Washington,  even  as  to  his 
white  horse,  without  having  one  particle  of  his  character  or 
talents,  lie  was  the  Don  Quixote  of  the  American  republic 
in  Europe  ;  the  pretender  to  heroism,  without  being  in  any 
respect  a  hero.  He  was  nothing  but  a  counterfeit  Washing- 
ton; and  when  he  would  play  the  real,  sage,  well-informed 
and  fir-seeing  Washington  before  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
France,  he  forgot  that  Washington  addressed  Congress  from 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  481 

the  camp,  while  he,  in  the  hour  of  supreme  danger,  abandoned 
his  forces,  and  when  the  Assembly  disapproved  his  conduct, 
stole  away  over  the  frontiers  of  his  country. 

If  there  is  any  fact  that  shows  the  character  of  Lafayette 
in  its  true  light,  and  the  good  luck  that  invariably  followed 
him,  it  is  this  ignominious  flight  in  which  he  was  taken  prison- 
er, by  the  Austrians,  who  had  declared  war  to  the  knife  against 
the  same  principles  for  which  Lafayette  had  taken  up  arras, 
and  been  elevated  to  the  rank  of  commanding  general.  Had 
he,  by  order  of  a  court  martial,  been  shot  for  treason,  he  would 
have  deserved  his  fate.  He  did  not  deserve  a  martyrdom 
cheaply  obtained  by  an  imprisonment  in  an  Austrian  jail.  In 
this  case  the  question  is  not  whether  the  Convention  was  right 
or  wrong:  the  only  question  was,  whether  the  general  it  ap- 
pointed had  to  obey  its  orders  or  not.  Nobody  compelled 
Lafayette  to  accept  the  command  of  a  republican  army ;  but 
after  having  once  accepted  it,  he  acted  shamefully  in  leaving 
it  for  only  personal  reasons.  Napoleon  called  him  a  simpleton 
in  politics  ("  niais  en  politique") ,  and  proved  by  his  acts  that 
that  was  his  real  opinion  of  him.  He  persecuted  and  hunted 
down  the  prominent  generals  of  the  republic,  while  he  put 
himself  out  of  his  way  to  procure  the  release  of  Lafayette,  and 
as  if  he  wanted  to  make  him  ridiculous,  offered  him  the  ap- 
pointment of  ambassador  to  the  United  States.  When  Napo- 
leon had  fallen,  Lafayette  revenged  himself  at  a  small  expense 
by  giving  him  a  few  kicks.  Under  the  Bourbons  he  played 
the  role  of  a  conspirer  behind  the  scenes,  and  as  the  tutor  and 
protector  of  young  students  and  soldiers,  gained  again  an  in- 
significant popularity.  When  the  Bourbons  were  driven  to 
flight,  Lafayette,  "  en  cheveux  blancs?  assisted  the  financial 
and  industrial  aristocracy,  as  if  he  was  anxious  to  play  to  the 
last  act  the  part  of  Voltaire's  Candide,  in  establishing  the  citi- 
zen king,  whom  he  called  "  la  meilleure  republi^m." 

Steuben's  position  in  the  American  army  is  the  exact  op- 
posite to  that  of  Lafayette.     He  owed  every  thing  to  himself, 

21 


482  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

and  his  nationality  was  more  an  obstacle  than  an  advantage  to 
him.  He  had  to  work  his  way  step  by  step,  and  to  contend 
for  years  against  distrust,  detraction,  and  animosities,  before 
he  could  establish  himself  firmly.  Washington  himself,  al- 
though he  recognized  at  once  to  the  fullest  extent  the  value 
of  Steuben's  reforms,  put  him  on  the  same  level  with  the  mass 
of  adventurers  who  at  that  time  were  flocking  into  the  coun- 
try, and  were  besieging  Congress  to  grant  them  place  and 
rank.  His  brothers  in  arms  were  hostile  to  him,  particularly 
at  the  beginning,  and  frequently  made  his  efforts  for  discipline 
in  the  troops  and  creating  an  efficient  inspectorship  of  the 
army,  a  reproach,  as  evidence  of  his  thirst  for  power  and  in- 
ordinate ambition.  By  degrees  he  succeeded  in  doing  away 
with  these  prejudices  and  obtaining  that  position  to  which 
his  merit  entitled  him.  His  activity  in  service,  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  was  a  personal  sacrifice.  A  sense  of 
duty,  the  conviction,  perhaps,  that  his  services  were  indispen- 
sable, and  the  hope  daily  increasing  that  the  American  arms 
would  be  successful,  alone  animated  him  to  perform  his  task 
cheerfully.  There  was  no  officer  in  the  American  army  who 
had  to  contend  with  so  many  enmities  and  slights,  and  who, 
notwithstanding,  never  relaxed  his  zeal.  Steuben's  first  con- 
sideration was  the  common  welfare.,.  His  own  interest  was 
quite  a  secondary  matter. 

In  regard  to  Lafayette's  generosity,  it  must  be  universally 
conceded  that  he  acted  in  the  most  high-minded  and  unselfish 
manner,  and  spent  enormous  sums  for  the  good  of  the  cause 
of  independence.  But  it  must  also  be  conceded  that  Steuben 
made  equally  large,  if  not  larger  sacrifices,  in  proportion  to  his 
means.  If  Congress  had  not  accepted  his  services,  he  would 
have  been  reduced  to  absolute  mendicancy,  since  in  the  au- 
tumn of  his  life  he  had  given  up  an  honorable  position,  and 
a  certain  and  adequate  income  for  an  uncertainty,  and  in  the 
hope  of  serving  what  he  believed  to  be  a  good  cause.  Lafay- 
ette, when  he  returned  to  his  country,  found  his  fortune  and 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  483 

his  home,  where  he  was  honored  and  rewarded,  but  Steuben 
abandoned  both  interest  and  capital,  and  lost  his  home,  when 
he  entered  the  American  army.  The  amount  of  the  sacrifice 
is  not  to  be  considered  so  much  as  the  character  of  him  who 
made  it,  and  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  made;  and  in  this  re- 
spect, also,  Steuben,  if  he  be  compared  with  Lafayette,  will 
stand  in  no  inferior  position. 

It  may  be  objected  that  these  remarks  about  Lafayette  are 
beside  the  question  ;  but  we  consider  it  our  duty  to  touch 
upon  the  most  remarkable  events  of  his  life,  as  they  constitute 
the  only  true  index  to  his  political  character,  and  as  his  ex- 
ploits have  been  often  made  the  standard  by  which  those  of 
Steuben  have  been  measured. 

The  greatest  honor  that  can  be  done  to  a  man  of  historical 
eminence,  is  to  criticise  him  justly  by  the  light  of  his  time, 
and  not  by  writing  his  apotheosis.  It  is  not  our  intention,  by 
the  above  remarks,  to  elevate  Steuben  by  detracting  from  La- 
fayette. We  believe  that,  in  a  political  sense,  the  services  of 
the  latter  were  more  important  than  those  of  any  other  for- 
eigner in  the  American  army.  But  we  do  design  to  correct 
the  impression  that  Lafayette's  military  share  in  the  war  of 
independence  is  entitled  to  greater  prominence  and  praise  than 
that  of  Steuben.  Both  men  served  the  cause  of  the  republic 
with  energy  and  zeal,  and  if  Lafayette's  relations  with  the 
court  of  France  and  social  position  in  that  country  rendered 
his  cooperation  of  high  political  value,  Steuben's  actual  services 
in  the  camp  and  the  field,  and  in  Washington's  councils,  were 
of  equal,  if  not  of  more  material  value. 


CHAPTER     XXIII. 

Steuben  returns  wrrn  the  Army  to  the  North.— He   resumes   his   Office  as  In- 
,  spector  General. — His  new  Plan  for  the  Establishment  of  the  Inspector- 
ship adopted  by  Congress. — This  Plan  contains  Steuben's  original    Ideas, 

SET   FORTH    FROM    THE    BEGINNING   IN   1778. — ItS   TENOR. — StEUHEN'S    PARADES   AND 

Maneuvers  excite  the  Admiration  of  the  French  Officers. — His  Hospital- 
ity.— State  of  the  Army. — Nothing  is  done  for  supplying  its  Wants. — Ex- 
treme Misery. — Steuben  himself  greatly  embarrassed. — His  Description  of 
the  State  of  the  Soldiers.— His  Opinions  about  an  Attack  of  New  York, 
which,  however,  is  not  effected. — Inspection  of  thf.  Troops. — A  monthly 
Keturn. — Washington's  General  Orders. — The  absolute  Want  of  Provision- 
ing the  Troops.— Poverty  of  the  Officers.— Steuben  can  not  get  Ten  Dollars 
on  Credit. — Walker's  Letter  about  the  Dissatisfaction  of  the  Army  — 
Steuben  asks  what  is  due  to  him. — He  goes  to  Philadelphia. — His  Letter  to 
Congress. — Kesolution  of  Congress  of  the  30th  of  December,  17S2. — Letters  of 
Gates  and  IJ owe.— Steuben  returns  to  Head-Quarters. 

STEUBEN  returned  with  the  army  to  the  North,  contin- 
ually employed  in  perfecting  its  discipline.  lie  found  it, 
however,  necessary  to  simplify  his  system.  As  the  officers 
were  all  furnished  with  the  printed  ordinance,  and  knew  their 
duties,  the  only  question  was  to  watch  for  their  execution. 

"When  the  department  of  the  inspection  was  first  insti- 
tuted," wrote  he  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1782,  to  Wash- 
ington,* "the  principal  object  was  the  introduction  of  a  uni- 
form discipline  throughout  the  different  armies  of  the  United 
States.  This  introduction  of  a  system  in  an  army  where  none 
hud  before  existed,  would  at  all  times  be  difficult ;  in  our  army 
it  was  practically  so,  and  required  the  utmost  pains  of  a  num- 
ber of  officers  appointed  to  assist  in  that  business.  By  their 
zeal  and  attention  the  business  has  been  effected.  The  system 
is  introduced,  and  the  officers  become  so  well  acquainted  with 
it  as  to  require  little  further  instruction  in  the  several  branches 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  485 

of  their  duty.  All,  therefore,  that  is  now  requisite  is  a  gen- 
eral inspection  of  the  whole,  to  see  that  the  discipline  estab- 
lished is  kept  up,  and  that  no  part  of  the  army  deviates  in  any 
respect  from  the  rules  laid  down. 

"I  would,  therefore,  propose  that  in  future  the  officers  of 
the  department  be  limited  to  an  inspector  general  and  two  in- 
spectors, one  for  the  northern  and  one  for  the  southern  army  ; 
the  general  duty  of  their  office  to  be  to  muster  the  troops 
monthly,  and  to  inspect  every  thing  relative  to  their  equip- 
ment. They  will,  at  the  same  time,  see  that  the  service  is 
carried  on  agreeably  to  the  regulations  in  the  respective  armies 
in  which  they  serve.  This  is  only  the  general  plan  of  what  I 
would  propose.  Should  it  meet  the  approbation  of  your  Ex- 
cellency, a  more  particular  plan  might  be  made  out,  in  which 
the  duties  of  the  inspectors  will  be  more  distinctly  defined." 

Washington  supported  Steuben's  plan,  whereupon  it  was 
approved  by  Congress  on  the  10th  of  January,  1782,  and  ex- 
ecuted with  perfect  success.  It  contains  all  the  original  ideas 
which  Steuben  had  elaborated  and  partly  reduced  to  practice 
in  the  camp  of  Valley  Forge,  when  the  jealousy  of  the  native 
officers,  to  their  own  injury,  interrupted  his  work.  It  had  thus 
required  more  than  four  years  before  the  army  understood 
that  unity  in  the  discipline,  inspection,  and  formation  of  the 
troops,  could  only  be  reached  by  a  simplified  organization  of 
the  general  inspectorship.  When  Steuben,  in  1*778,  required 
one  single  inspector  general,  subject  only  to  the  orders  of 
Congress,  the  board  of  war,  and  the  commander-in-chief,  the 
demands  which  he  made  in  the  interest  of  the  service  were 
construed  as  selfish  ambition.  In  remarkable  want  of  judg- 
ment, his  opponents  went  so  far  as  to  subordinate  the  general 
inspectorship  to  the  good,  or  rather  bad  will  of  a  newly-made 
colonel  or  general.  Finally,  after  four  years'  experience,  the 
original  plan  of  Steuben  was  adopted,  who  thus  proved,  beyond 
cavil,  that  he  was  right  in  all  he  proposed.  If  this  plan  had 
taken  place  in  1778,  the  inspection  would  have  effected  more 


486  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

and  done  greater  benefit  to  the  array.  From  this  time  Steu- 
ben was  inspector  general  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States, 
while  Colonel  Stewart  acted  as  inspector  of  the  northern, 
and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ternant  as  inspector  of  the  southern 
army. 

The  following  resolution  repealed  all  former  resolutions 
relative  to  the  inspector's  department,  and  gave  to  the  latter 
the  following  form,  powers,  and  privileges,  viz. : 

"  There  shall  be  an  inspector  general  of  the  armies  of  the 
United  States,  to  be  appointed  by  Congress  from  the  general 
officers,  and  to  be  allowed  one  secretary,  in  addition  to  the 
aides  which  he  has  in  the  line  of  the  army.  The  secretary  shall 
be  taken  from  the  line,  and  be  entitled  to  the  pay  and  emolu- 
ments of  an  aid-de-camp.  There  shall  be  one  inspector  for 
each  separate  army,  to  be  taken  from  the  field  officers  of  the 
line  of  the  army,  to  be  allowed  thirty  dollars  per  month,  in 
addition  to  his  pay  and  emoluments  in  the  line. 

"  The  inspector  general,  or  inspector  of  a  separate  army, 
shall,  once  in  every  month,  in  such  time,  place,  and  mode,  as 
the  commander-in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate 
army,  shall  direct,  review  and  muster  the  troops  of  every  de- 
nomination in  service,  at  which  review  they  shall  inspect  the 
number  and  condition  of  the  men  and  horses,  the  discipline  of 
the  troops,  the  state  of  their  arms,  accouterments,  ammuni- 
tion, clothing,  and  camp  equipage,  and  make  returns  thereof 
to  the  commander-in-chief^  or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate 
army,  noting  the  deficiencies,  neglects,  and  abuses ;  and,  if 
possible,  the  manner  in  which  they  happened,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  pointing  out  the  alterations  and  amendments  they  may 
think  necessary  in  any  branch  of  the  military  system,  dupli- 
cates of  which  returns  shall  be  transmitted  by  the  commander- 
in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate  army,  to  the  Secre- 
tary at  War. 

"  At  the  end  of  every  review,  the  commanding  officer  of 
the  corps  reviewed  shall  exercise  his  corps  in  the  manual  and 


L  I  F  E     OF     S  T  E  IT  B  B  X  .  48*7 

evolutions,  before  the  inspector,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  inspect 
and  report  the  discipline  of  the  troops,  agreeably  to  the  fore- 
going paragraph.  And  when  the  inspector  general,  or  inspect- 
or of  a  separate  army,  finds  it  necessary  to  have  any  particular 
evolutions  or  maneuvers  performed,  either  by  one  or  several 
corps,  he  shall  furnish  a  plan  of  such  evolutions  to  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  army,  who  will  approve  or  amend  them, 
and  order  them  executed,  as  he  may  think  proper. 

"  At  every  review  the  commanding  officers  of  companies 
and  corps  shall  produce  to  the  inspector  returns  of  their  re- 
spective companies  and  corps,  and  such  other  papers  and 
vouchers,  relative  to  the  enlistment  of  men,  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary ;  three  muster  rolls  shall  also  be  made  out  by  the 
commanding  officer  of  each  troop  or  company,  and  signed 
by  him,  one  of  which  shall  be  returned  to  him  certified  by  the 
inspector,  one  shall  be  certified  and  delivered  to  the  regimental 
pay-master,  to  be  fixed  to  the  pay  roll,  and  the  other  shall  be 
retained  by  the  inspector. 

"The  inspector  general,  or  inspector  of  a  separate  army, 
shall,  as  soon  as  possible  after  every  muster,  transmit  an  ab- 
stract of  the  muster  of  the  whole  army  in  which  he  is  serv- 
ing, to  the  commanding  officer,  who  shall  transmit  a  divplicate 
thereof  to  the  Secretary  at  War. 

"  As  soon  as  possible  after  every  review  the  inspector  shall 
report  to  the  commander-in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  of  a 
separate  army,  all  such  soldiers  who,  from  inability  or  other 
causes,  it  may  be  necessary  to  discharge  or  transfer  to  the  in- 
valids ;  and  no  discharge  shall  in  future  be  valid  unless  signed 
by  the  commander-in-chief,  or  officer  commanding  the  army 
where  such  discharge  is  given. 

"  The  inspector  general,  or  inspector  of  a  separate  army, 
shall  be  authorized  to  call  on  the  quarter-master  general, 
clothier  general,  and  field  commissary  of  military  stores,  or 
their  deputies,  for  returns  of  the  articles  which  have  been 
issued  from  and  returned  to  their  several  departments  by  each 


488  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

corps,  that  the  inspectors  may  see  whether  every  article  so 
delivered  has  been  regularly  and  satisfactorily  accounted  for 
or  charged  to  the  corps,  agreeably  to  the  established  regula- 
tions. 

"  The  inspector  general,  or  inspector  of  a  separate  army, 
shall  be  authorized  and  required  to  visit  the  military  hospitals 
of  the  United  States  from  time  to  time,  to  examine  the  gen- 
eral state  of  them  and  the  treatment  of  the  patients,  which  he 
shall  report  to  the  officer  commanding  the  army;  and  the  di- 
rector, deputy  director,  or  superintending  surgeon  of  any  hos- 
pital shall  furnish  them  with  such  returns  as  they  may  find 
necessary  for  the  better  execution  of  their  office. 

"The  inspector  general  shall  himself,  previous  to  the  open- 
ing and  at  the  close  of  every  campaign,  or  as  often  as  the 
commander-in-chief  shall  think  fit  to  order,  visit  every  part  of 
the  army,  to  see  that  uniformity  prevails  throughout  the  armies 
of  the  United  States. 

"The  inspector  general,  and  inspectors  of  a  separate  army, 
in  the  execution  of  their  offices,  shall  be  subject  only  to  the  or- 
ders of  Congress,  the  Secretary  at  War,  commander-in-chief, 
or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate  army.  And  that  the  in- 
spectors may  attend  the  better  to  the  duties  of  their  offices, 
they  shall  be  exempt  from  all  other  duties,  except  when  the 
commander-in-chief,  or  commanding  officer  of  a  separate  army, 
shall  think  proper  to  order  otherwise. 

"All  returns  in  the  inspector's  department  are  to  be  made 
agreeably  to  the  forms  which  shall  be  delivered  the  inspector 
general. 

"Each  inspector  of  a  separate  army  will  be  allowed  to  take 
an  officer  from  the  line  of  captains,  to  assist  him  in  the  duties 
of  his  office,  who  shall  be  allowed  ten  dollars  per  month,  in 
addition  to  his  pay  in  the  line. 

"  liesolued,  That  Major  General  Baron  Steuben  be,  and 
hereby  is,  continued  insj)ector  general  of  the  armies  of  these 
United  States,  and  vested  with  power  to  appoint  all  officers 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  489 

necessary  to  carry  the  aforegoing  plan  into  execution,  they 
being  first  approved  by  the  commander-in-chief." 

Steuben  was  at  this  time  at  or  near  the  head-quarters  of 
Washington.  As  many  French  officers  who  were  his  old  ac- 
quaintances, visited  his  post,  he  had  much  pride  in  showing 
them  the  discipline  and  military  expertness  which  the  American 
troops  had  attained  under  his  instructions.  Many  parades  were 
ordered,  and  the  adroitness,  and,  above  all,  the  silence,  with 
which  the  maneuvers  were  performed,  were  remarked  with 
astonishment  by  the  officers  of  the  French  army.  This  last 
particular  excited  the  more  surprise,  as  the  French  troops  were 
noisy  in  their  marches  and  evolutions.  "  Noise  ?"  exclaimed 
the  baron  to  General  Montmorency,  who  was  remarking  upon 
this  point ;  "  I  do  not  know  where  the  noise  should  come  from, 
when  even  my  brigadiers  dare  not  open  their  mouths  but  to 
repeat  my  orders."  On  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  a  violent 
storm  had  caused  a  grand  exhibition  to  be  postponed,  Steuben 
was  asked  by  one  of  the  French  generals,  who  had  retired  with 
him  to  his  marquee,  what  maneuvers  he  had  intended  to  per- 
form. On  being  told,  the  officer  mentioned  an  addition  of 
some  difficulty  which  he  had  seen  practiced  by  the  Prussians 
in  Silesia.  "  But  we  do  not  expect  you  to  equal  the  veteran 
army  of  the  King  of  Prussia.  All  in  good  time."  "  The  time 
shall  be  next  week,"  said  Steuben,  after  his  guests  had  retired ; 
"  I  will  save  the  gentlemen  wTho  have  not  been  in  Silesia  the 
trouble  of  going  any  further  than  Verplanck's  Point  for  in- 
struction." The  order  for  the  review  was  brought,  and  one 
of  his  aides  wrote  as  Steuben  dictated.  The  appointed  day 
came,  and,  amid  a  large  concourse  of  officers,  the  proposed 
evolutions  were  performed  with  great  precision.* 

"  Alas  !  when  I  think  of  that  day,"  says  North,  "  and  look 
to  that  eminence  on  which  General  Washington's  marquee  was 
pitched,  in  front  of  which  stood  that  great  man,  firm  in  the 

*  North,  1.  c,  and  Bowen  in  Steuben's  Life,  pp.  46  and  41,  in  Sparks's 
American  Biography,  vol.  ix.,  series  i. 

21* 


490  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

consciousness  of  virtue,  surrounded  by  French  nobles  and  the 
chiefs  of  his  own  army,  my  heart  sinks  at  the  view  !  Who,  but 
how  few  of  all  that  brilliant  host  is  left ;  those  few  now  totter- 
ing on  the  confines  of  the  grave  !  The  baron's  tent,  that  day, 
wras  filled  and  more  than  filled  with  Frenchmen.  'I  am  glad,' 
said  he,  '  to  pay  some  part  of  the  dinner  debt  we  owe  our 
allies.'  At  the  siege  of  York,  or  rather  immediately  afterward, 
he  sold  such  part  of  his  camp  equipage,  brought  from  Europe, 
as  was  of  silver,  that  he  might  give  a  feast.  'I  can  stand 
it  no  longer,'  said  he ;  'we  are  continually  dining  with  those 
people  and  can  not  give  a  piece  of  bratwurst  in  return ;  they 
shall  have  one  grand  dinner,  if  I  eat  my  soup  with  a  wooden 
spoon  hereafter.' " 

The  whole  year,  however,  passed  without  an  important 
event.  The  American  army  was  encamped  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Newburg,  on  the  Hudson,  and  in  the  Jerseys,  in  order 
to  be  ready  for  operations  against  New  York,  which,  however, 
never  took  place.  The  public  mind  felt  confident  of  the  con- 
clusion of  the  peace,  and  little  or  nothing  was  done  to  make 
new  sacrifices  or  even  to  fulfill  old  engagements.  Thus  the 
army  wTas  kept  incomplete,  their  wants  were  neglected,  their 
pay  withheld,  and  nothing  done  to  answer  the  exigencies  of 
the  present.  Steuben  felt  the  bad  consequences  of  this  neg- 
lect, as  well  for  himself  as  for  his  department  and  the  whole 
army.  On  the  1st  of  March,  1782,  the  United  States  owed  him 
$6,850  in  specie,  and  being  unable  to  draw  bills  of  exchange 
at  a  loss  of  from  thirty-eight  to  forty  per  cent.,  or  to  borrow 
money  any  longer,  he  requested  the  commander-in-chief  to  sup- 
port his  demands  for  the  payment  of  what  was  due  to  him. 

"  Without  troubling  your  Excellency,"  said  he,  in  a  letter 
of  the  1st  of  March,  1782,  to  Washington,*  "with  a  tedious 
detail  of  the  hardships  attending  my  situation,  I  pray  you  to 
consider  the  peculiarity  of  my  employment  compared  to  that  of 
other  officers.  The  arrangements  which  are  going  to  take  place 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  493 

for  furnishing  the  army  with  provisions,  forage,  etc.,  will  not  be 
of  advantage  to  me,  and  I  am  bound  to  travel  from  one  part  ot 
the  country  to  the  other,  to  live  at  double  expenses  in  taverns, 
in  which  I  have  to  pay  ready  money  not  only  for  my  personal 
expenses,  but  also  for  the  entertainment  of  my  aides-de-camp 
and  horses  necessary  to  perform  our  journeys.  I  would  be 
happy  if  the  pay  allowed  by  Congress  were  equal  to  such  ex- 
penses. I  do  not  want  to  lay  up  any  part  of  my  pay,  I  ask  no 
addition  to  it,  but  I  declare  it  to  be  totally  out  of  my  power, 
if  my  appointments,  as  well  those  of  January  and  February, 
as  those  occurring  in  future,  are  not  regularly  paid  me.  With 
regard  to  the  arrearage,  I  shall  be  satisfied  to  leave  in  the  pub- 
lic funds  $G,000,  provided  I  am  paid  the  remaining  $850,  which 
are  indispensably  necessary  to  enable  me  to  discharge  my  ex- 
penses here  and  provide  myself  with  the  necessary  equipage 
for  the  ensuing  campaign." 

At  the  special  intercession  of  the  commander-in-chief  and 
other  personal  friends,  Steuben  obtained  these  $850,  and  $500 
besides,  on  account  of  his  pay  for  January  and  February,  which 
was  all  that  he  had  received  since  he  was  in  service. 

In  the  army  general  discontent  prevailed,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  spirit  of  exasperation  and  distrust  among 
the  officers,  and  that  of  mutiny  among  the  soldiers,  manifested 
itself  more  impatiently,  if  we  read  statements  like  those  made 
by  Steuben  on  the  25th  of  May,  1782,  to  the  Minister  of  War, 
General  Lincoln. 

"  Yesterday,"  says  he,*  "  our  army  was  the  third  day 
without  provisions  ;  the  horses  of  the  officers  will  a  fortnight 
have  been  without  forage.  Every  department  is  without 
money  and  without  credit ;  that  of  the  quarter-master  general 
appears  to  be  stopped  in  all  its  branches.  Our  army  could  not 
make  a  day's  march,  as  we  are  without  the  necessary  means 
or  provisions.  Officers  and  soldiers  are  discontented  in  the 
highest  degree.     The  last  arrangement,  by  which  the  rations 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


492  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

have  been  withdrawn  in  reality,  without  the  least  compensa- 
tion in  cash,  has  redoubled  their  clamors.  You  have  doubt- 
less heard  of  the  premeditated  mutiny  of  the  Connecticut  line  ; 
it  was  discovered  a  day  previous  to  that  on  which  it  was  to  be 
put  in  execution.  The  ringleader  was  punished  with  death. 
A  few  days  after,  the  sergeants  of  the  Massachusetts  line 
presented  a  memorial  to  the  commander-in-chief  demanding 
their  pay.  Wherever  I  go  I  hear  complaints  which  make  me 
dread  the  most  fatal  consequences.  The  officers  of  the  staff 
of  the  army,  from  whom  both  servants  and  servants'  rations 
have  been  taken,  will  all  resign.  The  judge  advocate,  as  also 
several  others,  have  already  sent  in  their  resignations.  It  is 
certain  the  distresses  of  our  country  have  arrived  at  the  high- 
est possible  degree.  The  officers  can  not  stand  it  any  longer ; 
shall  -we  absolutely  drive  them  to  despair? 

"  What  I  have  related  is  not  properly  in  my  department, 
and  I  believe  it  is  only  a  duplicate  of  what  you  will  hear  from 
the  commander-in-chief;  but  I  conceive  it  my  duty  to  rej:>re- 
sent  to  you  the  calamities  of  the  army,  and  to  express  my 
apprehensions  for  their  consequences." 

Under  these  circumstances  it  w^as  fortunate  that  the  enemy 
did  not  know  the  embarrassments  and  the  want  of  exertions 
in  the  American  army,  as  he  probably  would  have  availed 
himself  of  the  general  lethargy  and  struck  an  unexpected 
blow.  Thus  the  British  confined  themselves  to  observe  Wash- 
ington, and  made  no  move  out  of  the  old  channel  in  which 
they  hitherto  had  conducted  the  war.  Besides,  their  force 
was  too  inconsiderable  to  make  any  impression.  On  the 
American  side,  however,  the  state  of  public  affairs  was  such 
as  not  to  promise  any  decided  exertions. 

Washington,  at  the  beginning  of  1782,  meditated  an  attack 
against  New  York,  and  among  others,  asked  Steuben  for  his 
opinion  about  his  plan.  It  clearly  elucidates  the  situation  of 
both  armies,  and  therefore  maybe  appropriately  inserted  here.* 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  493 

"  Before  I  can  give  an  answer  to  the  questions  which  your 
Excellency  has  proposed  to  my  consideration,  I  conceive  it 
will  be  necessary  to  take  a  comparative  view  of  the  troops 
which  the  enemy  have  actually  in  the  field  on  the  continent, 
and  those  which  we  may  have  the  probability  of  bringing  into 
action  the  next  campaign.  In  the  first  instance  the  force  the 
enemy  may  have  at  Quebec  and  Halifax  is  not  comprehended, 
and  in  the  latter  I  will  not  pretend  to  estimate  the  number  of 
militia  which  may  be  able  to  collect  in  case  of  necessity.  The 
balance  will  then  stand  as  follows : 

BRITISH    TROOPS. 

Regulars  at  New  York,  .            .            .            .            .9,000 

Militia,          .             .  .             .             .             .             .3,000 

Garrison  at  Charleston,  .....       3,000 

"       "    Savannah,  .....          700 


15,700 


ALLIED    ARMY. 

Northern  Continental  Army,            ....  10,000 

French  troops,          *.....  4,000 

Southern  Army,       ......  2,000 


10,000 


"  This  balance  above  will  be  sufficient  to  prove  that  supe- 
riority of  numbers  can  not  be  the  motive  with  us  to  undertake 
a  vigorous  offensive  campaign,  much  less  to  undertake  the 
siege  of  places  fortified  by  nature  as  well  as  by  art,  such  as 
New  York  and  Charleston. 

"The  three  propositions  simply  tend  to  the  enterprise 
against  New  York.  The  first  presupposes  the  enemy's  force 
in  that  garrison  to  be  such  as  I  have  stated,  that  they  retain 
possession  of  the  harbor,  and  have  a  naval  superiority  on  the 
coast;  the  second  that  they  have  the  above  force  by  land, 
keep  possession  of  the  harbor,  but  lose  the  superiority  at  sea; 
in  either  of  which  cases  any  attempt  against  the  garrison  ap- 
pears to  me  absolutely  impracticable,  even  though  our  num- 
bers were  doubled  by  the  militia. 


494  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

"The  position  of  the  enemy  is  on  three  islands.  When- 
ever we  attack  one  the  other  two  must  be  kept  in  check.  If, 
then,  the  besieged  should  consist  of  twelve  thousand  men,  and 
the  besiegers  of  twenty-four  thousand,  the  latter  must  be  di- 
vided into  three  parts,  each  consisting  of  eight  thousand  men. 
The  points  of  attack  are  the  passage  at  Kingsbridge,  the 
Heights  of  Brooklyn,  and  the  works  on  Staten  Island.  The 
shortest  line  of  communication  between  them  is  from  twenty 
to  twenty-four  miles,  with  a  river  between  each.  How,  then, 
is  the  one  to  support  the  other  in  case  of  a  superior  attack, 
which  the  enemy  may  easily  make,  as  they  possess  every  pos- 
sible advantage  by  water?  And  even  supposing  we  should 
obtain  possession  of  either  island,  what  position  should  we  take 
to  cover  our  flanks  from  the  enemy's  force  by  water?  but  if 
we  should  be  unfortunate  enough  to  have  any  one  division  de- 
feated, what  retreat  is  left  while  the  enemy  keep  possession  of 
the  water? 

"  These  reasons  alone  prove  to  me  sufficiently  the  impro- 
priety of  such  an  undertaking  so  long  as  the  enemy  keep  pos- 
session of  the  port,  and  the  river  by  which  the  islands  are 
surrounded. 

"As  soon  as  a  superior  fleet  shall  have  blocked  up  the 
harbor  without,  our  principal  object,  I  conceive,  will  be  Long 
Island,  in  which  case  the  greater  part  of  our  strength  will  be 
necessarily  employed  in  carrying  the  works  at  Brooklyn,  ei- 
ther by  storm  or  regular  approaches,  and  to  erect  batteries 
to  bombard  the  city  and  the  fleet  in  the  bay.  But  even  then 
it  will  be  necessary  that  our  frigates  should  be  in  possession 
of  the  Sound,  and  that  batteries  should  be  erected  on  our 
flanks  commanding  the  river. 

"The  last  proposition  supposes  that  wTe  were  in  possession 
of  the  harbor  and  had  the  superiority  at  sea.  In  this  case 
we  should  be  highly  reprehensible  if  we  did  not  make  the  at- 
tempt; yet  oven  then  I  would  propose  that  we  should  have  the 
most  pointed  assurances  that  the  fleet  destined  for  this  service 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  495 

should  remain  long  enough  to  effect  a  cooperation  on  the 
occasion.  It  would  also  be  necessary  to  make  an  exact  esti- 
mate of  the  number  of  troops  and  the  means  which  we  possess 
to  make  the  attempt. 

"  If  the  enemy  should  abandon  the  southern  States  and 
collect  their  whole  force  at  New  York,  it  would  amount  to 
sixteen  thousand  men  ;  and  by  recalling  our  troops  thence 
we  should  amount  to  nearly  the  same  number.  If  they  retain 
possession  of  Charleston  and  Savannah,  General  Greene  must 
also  remain  there,  and  then  we  shall  be  in  the  same  propor- 
tion of  fourteen  thousand  to  fourteen  thousand. 

"  It  would  be  no  less  difficult  than  hazardous  to  attack  the 
enemy  in  their  present  position,  with  less  than  double  this  num- 
ber, or  twenty-eight  thousand  men.  If  the  States  of  Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
and  Jersey,  could  send  four  thousand  men  as  rank  and  file, 
into  the  regular  army,  it  would  amount  to  fourteen  thousand 
men  (Continental  troops),  four  thousand  French  and  ten  thou- 
sand militia ;  with  this,  and  no  less  than  this,  I  conceive  wo 
might  attempt  the  enterprise. 

"  But  independent  of  the  troops  we  should  make  an  exact 
estimate  of  the  artillery,  engineer,  quarter  master's  and  com- 
missary departments,  that  we  may  not  find  ourselves  embar- 
rassed with  the  difficulties  that  always  arise  from  the  want 
of  means  necessary  for  the  several  branches  of  the  army. 

"Thus,  sir,  have  I  given  you  my  opinion  on  the  subject 
which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  submit  to  my  consideration, 
though  I  can  not  help  expressing  to  your  Excellency,  my  fears, 
that  the  suppositions  on  which  the  questions  depend,  will  never 
be  realized.  The  late  unfortunate  defeat  of  the  French  fleet 
in  the  West  Indies,  the  improbability  of  collecting  a  force 
sufficient  to  carry  on  the  siege,  and  the  difficulty,  I  had  almost 
said  the  impossibility,  of  supporting  them,  afford  but  too  just 
grounds  for  this  suggestion. 

"However,  though  our  particular  situation  makes  it  haz- 


496  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

ardous  to  undertake  nn  operation  which  calls  for  more  force 
and  greater  resources  than  we  at  present  possess ;  yet  I  am 
not  of  opinion  that  we  should  permit  the  campaign  to  waste 
away  without  improving  those  advantages  which  are  within 
our  reach.  The  army  should  move  down  and  take  some  ad- 
vantageous position  at  or  near  the  White  Plains  ;  and  if  our 
force  will  admit  that  the  two  York  regiments,  with  Hazen's, 
should  be  added  to  the  two  Hampshire  regiments  who  are 
now  stationed  on  the  northern  frontier,  and  march  under  the 
command  of  Hazen,  toward  St.  John's  in  Canada,  by  the  road 
lately  laid  out  by  the  ...  or  which  other  way  may  appear 
most  proper:  if  this  diversion  should  be  attended  with  no 
other  advantages  it  would  at  least  prevent  the  incursions  of 
the  savages,  a  circumstance  of  the  greatest  importance. 

"  Should  it,  therefore,  be  advisable  to  recall  the  French 
troops  from  Virginia,  I  should  conceive  the  army  would  be  for- 
midable enough  to  move  down  and  take  an  advantageous  post 
at  or  near  White  Plains  ;  and  if  by  the  addition  of  recruits  or 
militia,  our  situation  would  admit  of  a  diversion  with  the  two 
York  regiments  under  Hazen,  added  to  those  of  Hampshire, 
toward  the  garrison  of  St.  John's  in  Canada,  I  am  persuaded 
it  would  be  attended  with  the  most  salutary  consequences." 

But  even  these  diversions  were  not  made.  Steuben  con- 
tinued to  review  and  inspect  the  army,  and  to  make  his  month- 
ly reports  to  the  commander-in-chief  and  to  the  Secretary  at 
War. 

"We  select  at  random  a  report  which  we  find  in  Steuben's 
carefully-written  and  revised  inspection  book.  It  contains  all 
the  returns  kept  in  the  same  way  from  April,  1782,  till  1784, 
and  furnishes  a  striking  proof  of  the  progress  of  the  order 
and  discipline  in  the  army,  as  well  as  the  final  success  of  Steu- 
ben's exertions.  We  give  in  the  Appendix  copies  of  all  the 
returns  for  the  northern  army.  Furnishing  as  they  do  an 
exact  account  never  before  published  of  the  numbers  and  effi- 
ciency of  the  army,  they  seem  to  us  worthy  of  preservation. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN 


497 


General  Strength  of  the  different  Corps,  composing  the  Northern  Army— at 
taken  from  the  Regimental  Returns  accompanying  the  Inspection  of  June,  1782. 


1st  Massachusetts, 

2d     ditto 

3d     ditto 

4th   ditto 

5tlf  ditto 

6th    ditto 

7th   ditto 

8th  ditto 

9th   ditto 

10th   ditto 


Total, 


Iihoda  Island,. 


1st  Connecticut, 

2d     ditto 

3d     ditto 

4th   ditto 

5th   ditto 


Total, 


118  56j  |10  10  10  10  10 


10  10  10 


305  163   101 


,7>2 


13 


1    1 


1    1    1    1    84   17 


1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

5   5 


lsl 


18 

16 

17 

4 

17 

20 

1!) 

22 

17 

11 

88 

73 

«7S 
857 

.".(Hi 


1.S32 


1st  New  York, !  1 

2d     ditto 1 


Total, 


1    1 
1    1 


2    2 


1st  New  Jersey, 
2d     ditto 


Total. 


I  1 

II  1 


2    2 


25 


2     2 


1     1 
1    1 


(Hi 


:;5 


1,081 


ARTILLERY. 


Massachusetts, 
New  York,  . . , 


Artificers,  . 
Total, 


110 
1  10 


9  10    9j  1 

9  10  20|!  1 


19  21  82    2 

I     I     l| 


a 

; 

E 

* 

- 

2 

• 

8 

t 

3 

i 

.i. 

': 

5 

o 

9 

5 

b 

r 

& 

Pi    rn 

S  I  Sol  « 

£  III 

Q 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 
1 

1 

_ 

2 

2 

2 

lis 
II 

2 

1 

^ 

i 

p 

"3 

i" 

J 

f. 

c 

J- 

O     (B 

0 

Q 

17  35 
2S21 


17 
92  50 


2  25 


Rank  and 
File. 


IS  290 


40  38  662 


848 

57 


14:  79S 

I 


498  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

How  much  Washington  was  satisfied  with  the  progress  of 
the  inspection,  is  evident  from  the  following  general  order  :* 

"Head-Quarters,  Neweurg,  June  18th,  1782. 

"  The  general  informs  the  army  he  had  great  occasion  to 
be  satisfied  at  the  review  of  the  second  Connecticut  brigade ; 
and  yesterday,  esj:>ecially,  with  the  soldier-like,  veteran  appear- 
ance of  the  men  and  the  exactness  with  which  the  firings  were 
performed,  he  felt  a  particular  pleasure  in  observing  the  clean- 
liness and  steadiness  of  the  second  regiment  under  arms;  the 
activity  and  emulation  displayed  by  the  detachment  of  artil- 
lery during  the  late  review  deserve  encouragement  and  ap- 
plause. 

"  The  review  of  this  army  by  brigade  being  now  com- 
pleted, the  commander-in-chief  is  happy  in  having  this  oppor- 
tunity to  present  his  thanks  to  Major  General  Baron  De  Steu- 
ben for  the  indefatigable  assiduity  and  singular  attention, 
exhibited  in  the  late  inspection  and  review,  and  for  his  emi- 
nent service  in  promoting  the  discipline  of  the  army  on  all 
occasions ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  express  bis  approbation  of 
the  present  laudable  disposition  and  pride  of  corps  which  seem 
to  be  diffused  throughout  the  army ;  from  the  spirit  of  emula- 
tion and  a  consideration  of  the  amazing  contrast  between  the 
past  and  present  appearance  of  the  troops,  the  general  antici- 
pates the  happiest  consequences.  But  being  persuaded  that 
appearance  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  establish  the  reputation 
and  insure  the  success  of  our  arms,  and  that  frequent  and  re- 
peated exercise  is  absolutely  necessary  to  constitute  the  per- 
fection of  discipline,  be  requests  in  the  most  pointed  terms 
that  the  commanding  officers  of  division  and  brigade,  will 
punctually  exercise  the  troops  alternately  every  other  day  in 
brigade  and  by  detail.  In  the  course  of  these  exercises  the 
officers  are  permitted  to  vary  the  maneuvers  as  time,  circum- 

*  MS.  General  Orders  from  the  1st  of  June  to  the  10th  of  August,  1783,  in 
the  Steuben  Papers  (Utiea). 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  499 

stances  and  inclination  may  prompt,  provided  they  do  not  de- 
viate from  the  established  principles." 

It  was,  however,  not  Steuben's  fault  that  the  business  of 
the  inspection  did  not  go  on  as  well  as  he  himself  wished. 
There  were  impediments  in  his  way  which  he  could  not  re- 
move, and  first  of  all  the  want  of  the  most  indispen sable  means 
prevented  the  perfection  of  that  order  and  exactness  at  which 
he  aimed  from  the  first  day  on  which  he  performed  the  duties 
of  his  office. 

"The  more,"  wrote  he,  on  the  2d  of  June,  1782,  to  the 
Secretary  at  War,*  "  I  am  convinced  of  the  necessity  that  a 
state  of  the  army  should  be  regularly  laid  before  you,  the 
greater  was  my  surprise  yesterday  at  finding  that  the  returns 
for  the  month  of  March  wTere  still  deposited  at  head-quarters 
for  want  of  cash  to  defray  the  expenses  of  forwarding  them  to 
Philadelphia.  The  blank  muster  rolls  for  the  New  Hampshire 
regiments  have  been  detained  here  two  months  at  the  quarter- 
master general's  office,  for  the  same  reason.  It  is  in  vain,  sir, 
it  is  absurd,  to  talk  of  order,  of  discipline  and  arrangements, 
in  our  present  situation  ;  musters  and  inspections  are  totally 
useless  unless  a  fund  is  established  to  defray  the  necessary  ex- 
penses of  the  different  departments  of  the  army.  For  my 
part,  I  do  not  hope  to  see  the  troops  in  a  situation  to  do  honor 
to  themselves,  or  service  to  their  country,  while  we  are  de- 
prived of  means  of  laying  their  wants  before  those  who  alone 
have  the  force  of  supplying  them.  This,  sir,  is  only  a  dupli- 
cate of  what  I  had  the  honor  to  mention  to  you  in  person,  and 
I  now  take  the  liberty  to  report  it  officially,  that  you  may 
have  an  occasion  to  procure  the  truth  of  it." 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  poverty  of  the  officers  in  consequence 
of  not  receiving  their  pay,  that  when  Congress  ordered  that 
no  letters  were  free  except  "public  business"  was  written  on 
them,  and  that  when   several  regimental  returns  not  being 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


500  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

superscribed  as  above,  arrived  at  Newburg,  they  could  not 
be  taken  out  of  the  post  office.  The  adjutant  general  would 
not  pay  six  cents  postage,  the  other  adjutants  could  not,  and 
thus  the  Minister  at  War  received  only  returns  of  a  part  of  the 
army.  "Several  heads  of  departments,"  says  William  North, 
from  whom  we  quote  these  facts,*  "  had  letters  in  the  same 
way,  which  they  could  not  touch,  so  that  it  wras  thought  prob- 
able that  Congress  would  amend  their  act." 

To  send  Major  Barber  and  Captain  Popham  to  Saratoga 
foi*  the  inspection  of  the  troops,  Steuben  had  to  pay  the  money 
out  of  his  own  pocket.  When  Colonel  Stewart  was  about  to 
review  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Hazen  at  Lancaster,  the  Min- 
ister at  War  declared  that  it  was  not  worth  the  while  to  take 
a  round  about  way.  "  It  is  my  opinion,"  remarks  Steuben, 
very  justly,  "that  omitting  the  inspection  of  only  one  regi- 
ment for  one  month,  can  cause  more  expenses  to  the  United 
States  than  the  inspection  of  the  whole  army  for  a  year  can 
cost." 

"  If  my  life,  if  my  honor  had  depended  on  it,"  writes  Steu- 
ben at  this  time,  "  I  wTould  not  have  been  able  to  raise  ten 
dollars  on  credit.  The  certificate  for  $6,000,  which  I  held 
from  the  United  States,  I  offered  in  vain  for  one  tenth  of  its 
nominal  value.  There  is  no  resource  whatever  left  to  me.  I 
have  already  lost  six  horses  since  I  am  in  service,  chiefly  for 
want  of  forage ;  the  two  best  were  stolen,  as,  while  in  West 
Point,  I  had  to  send  them  twenty  miles  from  that  place  to  find 
pasturage  for  them ;  besides  that,  for  want  of  bolts  and  bars 
for  my  house,  my  silver  and  linen  were  stolen,  so  that  I  am  re- 
duced in  every  thing."f 

In  the  meantime  the  dissatisfaction  among  officers  and  sol- 
diers in  the  army  respecting  the  arrearages  of  their  pay,  and 
their  future  prospects,  had  increased  to  an  alarming  degree, 
which  grew  still  worse  when  the  troops  took  winter  quar- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 

f  Ibidem,  vol.  xiv.,  in  Memorial  to  Congress. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  501 

ters  in  the  neighborhood  of  Newburg,  and  had  more  leisure 
to  think  of  and  converse  upon  their  really  miserable  situa- 
tion. 

"  The  army,"  wrote  Walker  from  Newburg,  on  the  20th 
of  November,  1782,  to  Steuben,*  "  are  not  so  quiet  a  people  as 
you  imagine,  and  as  soon  as  they  have  settled  in  their  huts,  I 
fear  they  will  be  less  so.  A  very  dangerous  spirit  seemed  to 
be  rising,  but  the  prudent  have  turned  it  a  better  way  than  it 
was  going.  The  officers  of  the  lines  have  already  appointed 
a  committee  to  memorialize  and  to  receive  communications 
of  other  lines.  I  fancy  it  will  end  in  a  memorial  of  the  whole 
army  to  Congress." 

The  general  officers  were  in  no  better  condition  than  the 
privates.  They  received  no  pay,  and  starvation  and  misery 
were  staling  them  in  the  face  ;  but  they  adopted  other  means 
to  get  their  claims  acknowledged  and  settled.  As  to  Steuben, 
we  have  seen  that  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign  he  had  re- 
ceived $850  on  account,  and  his  pay  for  January  and  Feb- 
ruary. This  money  was  spent  during  the  subsequent  four 
months.  In  June,  1782,  he  applied  again  to  Congress,  repre- 
senting to  the  Secretaries  of  War  and  Finance  the  absolute  ne- 
cessity, arising  from  his  peculiar  situation  in  the  army,  to  have 
his  ordinary  expenses  defrayed. 

"  While  other  officers,"  said  Steuben,  in  his  memorial  of 
June,  I782,f  "  were  stationed  within  their  respective  divisions, 
brigades  and  corps,  and  could  avail  themselves  of  their  ordi- 
nary supplies,  the  nature  of  my  duty  kept  me  in  constant  mo- 
tion from  one  division  of  the  army,  and  even  from  one  army 
to  another,  necessarily  subjecting  me  to  all  the  expenses  inci- 
dent to  traveling.  I  ever  have  been,  and  ever  will  be,  dis- 
posed to  draw  an  equal  lot  with  those  truly  brave  men  whose 
sufferings  have  long  since  called  aloud  for  speedy  redress ; 
with  them  have  I  frequently  wanted  not  only  the  conveniences 
but  even  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  if  my  duty  confined  me  to 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix.  f  Ibidem. 


502  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

camp  or  quarters,  would  not  conceive  myself  entitled  to  any 
extraordinary  privilege.  Hitherto  I  have  never  made  a  requi- 
sition of  any  kind  to  Congress,  and  I  entreat  your  Excellency 
to  be  persuaded  that  it  is  with  singular  pain  I  am  compelled 
to  make  one  at  this  time  ;  but  the  duty  I  owe  to  my  own  feel- 
ings, as  well  as  the  respect  I  entertain  to  that  august  body, 
required  that  I  should  be  thus  explicit  with  them." 

But,  although  receiving  encouragement  that  proper  atten- 
tion would  be  paid  to  his  situation,  Steuben's  expectations 
were  again  disappointed,  as  Congress  did  nothing.  Even  the 
eighty-four  dollars  per  month,  which  were  granted  to  him  in 
1779  as  extra  pay  to  defray  his  traveling  expenses,  were  over- 
looked in  the  new  plan  of  inspectorship,  and  therefore  not  paid 
to  him.  Thus  Steuben  stood  without  any  provision  for  his 
services  as  inspector  general  beyond  his  allowances  as  major 
general.*  He,  therefore,  concluded  to  go  himself  to  Phila- 
delphia, reviewing  the  New  York  and  Jersey  lines  on  his 
route,  and  on  the  7th  of  July,  for  the  purpose  of  better  sus- 
taining his  claims,  put  the  following  questions  to  Washing- 
ton :f 

"  Is  the  department  of  inspector  general  necessary  in  the 
army,  or  is  it  not  ?  Has  this  department  been  conducted  dur- 
ing the  course  of  five  years  agreeably  to  your  wishes,  and  have 
the  consequences  resulting  from  my  exertions  as  chief  of  the 
department  answered  your  expectations  ?" 

To  which  queries  the  commander-in-chief  replied  : 

"  I  give  it  as  my  clear  opinion  that  it  has  been  of  the  ut- 
most utility,  and  continues  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance, 
for  reasons  too  obvious  to  need  enumeration,  but  more  espe- 
cially for  having  established  one  uniform  system  of  maneuvers 
and  regulations  in  an  army  composed  of  the  troops  of  thirteen 

*Steubeu  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix,  letter  of  Timothy  Pickering  of  Juno  25th, 
1782. 

f  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  viii.,  315  and  316,  and  Steuben  MS.  Pa- 
pers, voL  viii. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  503 

States  (each  having  its  local  prejudices),  and  subject  to  con- 
stant interruptions  and  deviations  from  the  frequent  changes 
and  dissolutions  it  has  undergone.  It  is  equally  just  to  de- 
clare that  the  department,  under  your  auspices,  has  been  con- 
ducted with  an  intelligence,  activity  and  zeal,  not  less  benefi- 
cial to  the  public  than  honorary  to  yourself,  and  that  I  have 
had  abundant  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  your  abilities  and  at- 
tention to  the  duties  of  your  office  during  the  four  years  you 
have  been  in  the  service." 

But  Congress  again  did  nothing,  and  months  passed  away 
before  Steuben  took  up  the  matter  again. 

"  Your  services,"  wrote  North,  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1782,  to  Steuben,*  "  to  my  ungrateful  country,  have  been 
treated  with  a  neglect  shocking  to  every  man  of  sensibility. 
The  army  whom  you  have  formed  alone  feel  how  much  Amer- 
ica is  indebted  to  you,  and  their  honest  cheeks  glow  with  in- 
dignation at  the  ingratitude  of  their  countrymen.  The  army, 
the  United  States,  know  what  you  have  done,  your  intimate 
friends  only  know  what  you  have  suffered,  since  you  took 
upon  you  the  herculean  task  of  forming  the  American  armies. 
It  is  now  five  years  since  you  undertook  this  last  work.  How 
well  you  have  succeeded  the  present  state  of  the  army  will 
declare ;  but  unfortunately  for  our  honor,  your  reward  only 
consists  in  the  consciousness  of  having  acted  a  great  and  good 
part.  The  war,  my  dear  general,  is  perhaps  drawing  towards 
a  close.  It  has  happily  been  successful,  and  you  doubtless 
have  acquired  a  lasting  honor  by  the  part  you  had  in  it.  But 
honor  alone  will  never  compensate  for  your  sacrifices  in  Eu- 
rope, nor  your  sacrifices  in  America ;  a  reward  of  another 
kind  is  due.  Justice  to  yourself  and  to  your  friends  points 
out  the  necessity  of  your  endeavoring  to  procure  it." 

Steuben,  however,  did  not  want  a  reward.  He  only  ex- 
pected to  get  what  he  had  a  right  to  ask.  At  last  he  could 
bear  the  procrastination  no  longer,  and  on  the  4th  of  December, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


504  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

1782,  appealed,  in  the  following  noble  letter,  to  E.  Boudinot, 
president  of  Congress  :* 

"  Sir,  it  is  now  five  years  since  I  was  first  honored  with 
a  major  general's  commission,  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  Having  given  up  respectable  commands  and  affluent 
circumstances  in  Europe  to  become  useful  to  this  country,  it 
would  be  doubly  mortifying  to  me  to  find  my  endeavors  in- 
effectual. 

"  The  journals  of  Congress  will  show  that  this  is  the  first 
application  I  make  to  their  honorable  body  concerning  my 
private  affairs.  They  will  at  the  same  time  manifest,  that 
while  I  attended  my  duty,  I  wholly  neglected  my  private  con- 
cerns. I  feel  this  satisfaction,  that  if  I  ever  partook  of  the 
honor,  I  likewise  shared  in  the  inconveniences,  toils  and  dan- 
gers to  which  the  army  was  exposed. 

"  My  private  resources  being  exhausted,  I  entreat  your  Ex- 
cellency will  recommend  to  Congress  their  directing  a  com- 
mittee to  examine  into  my  situation,  and  report  to  them  the 
reasonableness  of  my  demands.  I  shall  be  happy  to  evince  to 
their  committee,  that  the  internal  administration  of  the  reg- 
iments and  corps,  with  the  institution  of  which  I  was  intrusted, 
has  been  productive  of  the  most  beneficial  savings  to  the  pub- 
lic, in  men,  arms,  ammunition,  accouterments  and  camp  equip- 
age. The  testimonials  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  com- 
manders  of  the  separate  armies,  as  well  as  of  the  generals  and 
other  officers  of  the  army,  will  place  this  assertion  beyond  all 
doubt. 

"  To  address  this  letter  to  you,  at  a  time  when  our  army 
is  honored  with  the  approbation  of  allied  troops,  remarkable 
for  their  order  and  discipline,  is  to  me  a  singular  happiness. 
Encouraged  by  their  suffrage,  I  dare  assure  you  that  your 
enemies  can  not  oppose  to  you  an  infantry  equal  to  your  own, 
unless  it  be  superior  in  numbers.  You  have  officers  whose 
military  knowledge  equals  their  courage,  and  soldiers  who  can 
*  Steuben  MS.  Pupers,  vol.  ix. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  505 

execute  every  possible  command.  With  such  an  army  you 
will  boldly  look  for  a  peace  glorious  to  your  country  and 
promising  happiness  to  your  posterity. 

"  When  I  drew  my  sword  in  the  defense  of  these  States 
I  did  it  with  a  determination  that  death  only  should  force  me 
to  lay  it  down  before  Great  Britain  had  acknowledged  the 
independence  of  America,  and  I  still  persist  in  the  same  reso- 
lution. Your  own  feelings,  sir,  and  those  of  Congress,  may 
enable  you  to  judge  of  those  of  an  old  soldier  who  finds  him- 
self obliged  to  mention  facts  of  such  a  nature  as  those  I  have 
been  laying  before  you.  Congress  will  do  me  the  justice  to 
believe  that,  in  doing  justice  to  the  zeal  and  capacity  of  the 
officers,  and  the  docility  of  the  soldiers  of  the  federal  army, 
to  speak  of  mvself  is  a  task  highly  painful  and  disagreeable  to 
me." 

Congress,  on  the  30th  of  December,  1782,  resolved,  that 
to  enable  Steuben  to  take  the  field  another  campaign,  and  for 
his  present  support,  $2,400  should  be  paid  to  him,  and  that  he 
should  be  allowed  $300  per  month,  in  lieu  of  his  extra  pay, 
and  subsistence  and  forage  for  himself  and  family.* 

"  The  committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  Mr.  Clarke 
and  Mr.  Carroll,  to  whom  was  referred  a  letter  of  the  5th, 
from  Major  General  the  Baron  De  Steuben,  having  conferred 
with  him  thereupon,  submit  to  the  consideration  of  Congress 
the  following  facts,  resulting  from  the  communication  made 
to  them,  supported  by  the  testimonials  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  and  many  other  principal  officers  of  the  army  : 

"  First.  That  the  Baron  De  Steuben  was  in  Europe  pos- 
sessed of  respectable  military  rank,  and  different  posts  of  hon- 
or and  emolument,  which  he  relinquished  to  come  to  America 
and  offer  his  services  at  a  critical  period  of  the  war,  and  with- 
out any  previous  stipulation. 

"  Secondly.  That  on  his   arrival  he  actually  engaged  in 

the  army,  in  a  very  disinterested  maimer,  and  without  com- 

*  Resolutions  of  Congress,  viii.,  51  and  52. 
99 


506  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

pensations  similar  to  those  which  had  been  made  to  several 
other  foreign  officers. 

"  Thirdly.  That  under  singular  difficulties  and  embarrass- 
ments in  the  department  in  which  he  has  been  employed,  he 
has  rendered  very  important  and  substantial  services,  by  in- 
troducing into  the  army  a  regular  formation  and  exact  disci- 
pline, and  by  establishing  a  spirit  of  order  and  economy  in  the 
interior  administration  of  the  regiments ;  which,  besides  other 
advantages,  have  been  productive  of  immense  savings  to  the 
United  States;  that  in  the  commands  in  which  he  has  been 
employed,  he  has,  upon  all  occasions,  conducted  himself  like  a 
brave  and  experienced  officer:  the  committee  are  therefore 
of  an  opinion  that  the  sacrifices  and  services  of  the  Baron  De 
Steuben  justly  entitle  him  to  the  distinguished  notice  of  Con- 
gress, and  to  a  generous  compensation,  whenever  the  situation 
of  public  affairs  will  admit ;  the  committee  further  report  that 
the  Baron  De  Steuben  has  considerable  arrearages  of  pay  due 
to  him  from  these  States  on  a  liquidated  account,  and  that 
having  exhausted  his  resources  in  past  expenses,  it  is  now  in- 
dispensable that  a  sum  of  money  should  be  paid  him  for  his 
present  support,  and  to  enable  him  to  take  the  field  another 
campaign,  and  propose  that  the  sum  of  $2,400  be  paid  to  him 
for  that  purpose,  and  charged  to  his  account  aforesaid  ;  where- 
upon, 

"  Hesolved,  That  the  foregoing  proposal  of  the  committee 
be  referred  to  the  superintendent  of  finance  to  take  order. 

"  The  committee  further  observing,  that  from  the  nature  of 
the  department  in  which  the  Baron  De  Steuben  is  employed, 
he  is  under  the  necessity  of  making  frequent  journeys,  by 
which  he  incurs  an  additional  expense,  and  is  often  deprived 
of  the  allowance  of  forage  to  which  he  is  entitled;  thereupon, 

"  IZesolved,  That  the  Baron  De  Steuben  be  allowed  $300 
per  month,  in  lieu  of  his  extra  pay,  and  of  subsistence  and 
forage  for  himself  and  family^  including  wagon  as  well  as  sad- 
dle horses,  and  that  these  allowances  hereafter  cease." 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  507 

While  Steuben  was  arranging  his  affairs  at  Philadelphia, 
the  array  had  taken  up  their  winter  quarters  at  New  Wind- 
sor. In  this  connection  we  give  the  letter  of  General  Gates, 
who  had  just  arrived  in  camp,  after  having  lost  sight  of  the 
progress  of  the  army  since  the  last  three  years.  For  this  rea- 
son his  letter  is  the  more  interesting. 

"  Lieutenant  Colonel  Howard,"  writes  Gates  on  the  22d  of 
November,  1782,  to  Steuben,*  "does  me  the  favor  to  be  the 
bearer  of  this  letter.  I  am  happy  in  so  good  an  opportunity 
to  present  you  with  my  most  affectionate  regards. 

"  Saturday  after  you  left  camp,  the  left  wing  of  the  army 
marched  for  their  winter  quarters,  and  on  Sunday  they  were 
followed  by  the  right.  From  the  time  of  our  arrival  on  this 
side  of  the  mountains  we  have  been  constantly  employed  in 
hutting,  and  making  every  preparation  necessary  to  keep  us 
warm  and  healthy  through  the  severity  of  the  approaching 
season.  I  think  another  week  will  complete  the  business. 
Our  men  are  become  so  adroit  and  perfect  in  the  art  of  hut- 
ting, that  I  think  they  will  be  more  comfortable  and  better 
lodged  in  the  quarters  they  build  for  themselves  than  in  those 
any  city  in  the  continent  would  afford  them.  This  mode  of 
covering  an  army  for  the  winter  is  new  in  the  art  of  war,  and 
I  wish,  for  the  good  of  mankind,  that  the  princes  and  generals 
of  Europe  may  not  adopt  it,  for  then  adieu  to  those  respites 
from  carnage  which  hitherto  the  winter  has  so  generally  given 
to  European  armies. 

"We  have  just  heard  that  the  enemy  are  preparing  for  a 
large  embarkation — it  may  be  the  whole  are  going — to  the 
West  Indies.  I  am  fully  of  opinion  that  is  what  they  ought  to 
do,  as  here  they  have  little  to  gain  ;  there  they  have  every 
thing  to  lose.  That  commerce  which  is  their  great  resource 
must  be  ruined,  should  Jamaica  fall.  I  therefore  believe  they 
will  abandon  all  here  to  save  it.  If  I  am  right  in  my  con- 
jecture, the  warfare  between  us  and  Britain  finishes  with  the 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


508  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN., 

year;  but  believe  me,  my  dear  baron,  my  great  respect  for 
you  will  not  end  with  the  war.  The  astonishment  with  which 
I  beheld  the  order,  regularity,  and  attention,  which  you  have 
taught  the  American  army,  and  the  obedience,  exactness,  and 
true  spirit  of  military  discipline  which  you  have  infused  into 
them,  does  you  the  highest  honor.  Gratitude  obliges  me  to 
make  you  this  declaration.  The  generosity  of  the  governing 
powers,  both  civil  and  military,  will,  I  trust,  be  actuated  by 
the  same  generous  principle,  and  by  proclaiming  to  the  world 
your  merits  and  their  obligation,  convince  mankind  that  the 
republics  of  America  have  at  least  the  virtue  to  be  grateful." 

About  the  same  time  General  Robert  Howe  wrote  a  letter 
to  Steuben,  which  confirms  Gates'  statements  about  Steuben's 
popularity  in  the  army,  while  it  shows  its  condition  in  a  more 
favorable  light  than  we  have  viewed  it.  We  give  it  here  in 
full : 

"  I  have  waited,  my  dear  baron,"  writes  Howe  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1782,*  "  a  long  while,  in  hopes  that  some  event 
would  *  ave  happened  worthy  of  your  notice,  but  there  has 
been  such  a  barrenness  of  incident,  and  it  is  likely  to  continue, 
that  I  will  no  longer  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  writing  to  a 
man  I  so  truly  and  warmly  esteem,  were  it  only  to  ask  what 
you  are  doing  in  Philadelphia.  You  promised  me  at  parting 
that  I  should  hear  from  you  upon  your  arrival,  but  either  the 
pleasures  or  vexations  you  have  been  involved  in  have  induced 
you  to  postpone  fulfilling  it.  I  am  too  deeply  interested  in 
your  happiness  not  earnestly  to  hope  that  my  disappointment 
has  been  owing  to  the  former  cause  rather  than  to  the  latter. 
But,  in  either  case,  I  charge  you  to  let  me  hear  from  you ;  if 
the  first,  the  information  will  make  me  happy ;  if  the  second, 
it  will  induce  every  sensibility  in  my  mind,  and  call  from  me 
every  consolation  which  can  result  from  affectionate  sym- 
pathy. 

"Your  children — for  so  I  call  our  army — have  been  labor- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  voL  ix. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  509 

ing  night  and  day  to  build  their  huts,  and  a  wilderness  is  al- 
ready changed  into  a  city.  Were  I  writing  to  a  man  less 
acquainted  with  our  troops  than  you  are,  I  should  perhaps  ex- 
patiate upon  their  endurance  of  fatigue,  their  patience  under 
the  greatest  sufferings,  the  faithful  services  rendered  their 
country,  without  reward  and  almost  without  the  hope  of  it ; 
their  resignation  to  cruel  and  repeated  disappointments  with- 
out a  murmur,  with  ten  thousand  other  virtues  with  which 
you  know  them  to  be  endowed,  and  therefore  now  not  to  be 

told  of. I  can  not  conclude  this  letter  without 

conveying  to  you  what  I  am  sure  your  attachment  to  the  army 
will  render  pleasing  to  you,  that  is,  that  they  universally  think 
and  speak  of.you  with  love,  pleasure,  gratitude,  and  applause  ; 
and  you  will,  I  am  persuaded,  hear  very  shortly  from  them." 
Steuben,  however,  did  not  return  to  head-quarters  until  in 
March,  1783.  % 


CHAPTER     XXIV. 

The  Year  17S3  as  devoid  of  kemarkable  Events  as  the  preceding.— Peace  cer- 
tain.—It     IS    ANNOUNCED    TO     THE    ARMY.— The    LATTER    DISSOLVED.— CLAIMS    OF 

Officers  and  Soldiers.— Letter  of  Richard  Peters.— Steuben's  Advice  asked 
at  the  Dissolution  of  the  Army.— His  Proposals  for  the  Discharge  of  the 
Soldiers,  about  a  Peace  Establishment,  and  a  Military  Academy.— Lincoln's 
Answer.— Closing  Scenes  of  the  War.— Address  of  the  Officers  of  the  Two 
New  York  Regiments  to  Steuben.— Steuben's  last  official  Mission  to  Canada. 
—Washington's  Instructions.— Want  of  Success  of  his  Demands  on  General 
Haldimand.— Steuben's  Report.— He  goes  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York.— 
Washington's  Letter  on  the  Day  of  jiis  Resignation.— Steuben's  Answer.— 
Office  of  Secretary  of  War  vacant.— Knox  preferred  to  Steuben.— Reasons 
why.— Steuuen  resigns  the  Inspectorship.— Congress  accepts  it,  and  votes 
him  a  gold-hllted  sword.— its  description. 

# 

rpHE  year  1783  passed  over  more  quietly  than  its  predeces- 
J-  sor.  The  conclusion  of  peace  was  already  certain  at  its 
beginning.  In  March,  the  intelligence  that  the  preliminaries 
had  been  signed  reached  the  camp,  and  as  early  as  the  19th 
of  April  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  proclaimed  to  the  army. 
From  this  date  begins  its  disbandment— a  difficult  business, 
considering  the  just  claims  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  inability  of 
Congress  to  send  them  home  satisfied. 

"  Our  means,"  writes  Richard  Peters  on  the  23d  of  April, 
1783,  to  Steuben,*  "are  small,  though  our  wishes  are  favor- 
able  and  sincere.  Our  circumstances  afford  an  odd  contrast 
to  those  we  have  heretofore  experienced.  The  difficulty  which 
heretofore  oppressed  us  was  how  to  raise  an  army ;  the  one 
which  now  embarrasses  us  is  how  to  dissolve  it.  Every  thino- 
that  Congress  can  do  for  our  deserving  soldiers  will  be  done, 
but  an  empty  purse  is  a  bar  to  the  execution  of  the  best 
plans." 

Steuben  was  often  consulted  by  the  commander-in-chief  as 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


L  IPE      O  F      S  T  E  U  BEN. 


11 


well  as  the  Minister  at  War,  about  the  business  connected  with 
the  disbandment  of  the  army,  and  about  the  arrangements  to 
be  made  for  the  defense  of  the  country  after  the  conclusion 
of  peace.  As  to  the  former  object,  he  wrote  on  the  26th  of 
April,  1783,  to  Washington  :* 

"  Before  the  dismissal  of  the  men  engaged  for  the  war,  it 
will  be  necessary  that  each  of  them  should  receive  a  printed 
discharge,  signed  by  the  commander-in-chief.  If  they  leave 
the  army  without  being  regularly  discharged,  the  consequence 
will  be  that  those  who  have  been  engaged  for  a  longer  time 
will  take  this  moment  to  leave  the  army  also,  and  entering 
into  the  class  of  citizens  with  them,  it  will  not  be  known  who 
are  entitled  to  their  dismission  and  who  are  deserters.  More- 
over, a  discharge  signed  by  the  commander-in-chief  will  give  a 
dignity  nattering  to  soldiers  who  have  served  their  country 
with  fidelity.  It  would  have  a  good  effect  if  the  soldiers,  by 
their  discharges,  were  authorized  to  apprehend  and  deliver  to 
their  respective  governments  those  who  have  left  the  army 
without  a  legal  discharge.  The  certificate  of  the  retiring  offi- 
cers ought  to  be  printed  on  parchment,  if  possible,  signed  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  sealed  with  his  arms  ;  they  will, 
in  the  most  honorable  terms,  express  the  value  of  their  ser- 
vices. 

"The  dismissal  of  the  troops  must  be  executed  with  the 
greatest  dignity  possible,  for  which  purpose  I  submit  to  your 
Excellency  whether  a  board  should  not  assemble,  to  be  com- 
posed of  a  brigadier  general,  a  colonel,  a  lieutenant  colonel, 
and  a  major  of  each  line,  at  which  board  the  inspector  gen- 
eral could  preside.  The  certificates  of  the  officers  and  the  dis- 
charge of  the  soldiers  to  be  signed  and  filled  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  nothing  would  remain  for  the  board  but  to  insert  the 
name,  rank,  and  date  of  the  person  discharged.  The  names 
of  the  officers  and  soldiers  so  dismissed  to  be  entered  by  the 
board  in  a  book,  which,  in  memory  of  those  brave  citizens 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


512  LIFE     OF     ST  E  U  B  B  X  . 

who  have  fought  for  the  independence  of  their  country,  should 
be  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Congress.  The  troops  to  be 
discharged  in  lines,  beginning  with  New  Hampshire.  The 
board  dismissing  those  enlisted  for  the  Continent,  might  be  as- 
sembled at  the  Temple,  the  general  of  the  line,  the  field  and  staff 
officers  of  the  regiment,  and  the  officers  of  the  company  who  are 
to  be  discharged,  will  be  present.  The  troops  to  be  marched 
to  the  temple  in  regiments  or  battalions,  formed  for  inspection. 
Each  non-commissioned  officer  and  soldier  will  be  examined 
as  to  his  pretensions,  and  if  any  doubt  should  arise  as  to  the 
term  of  his  engagement,  the  necessary  inquiries  maybe  made, 
as  at  this  moment  every  person  will  be  present  who  can  be 
supposed  to  give  information  in  the  matter. 

"  The  Discharging. —When  a  battalion  is  finished,  the  in- 
specting general,  or  inspector,  will  divide  them  into  compa- 
nies, and  divide  the  officers  who  are  to  command  them.  This 
formation  will  exist  on  the  march,  and  until  they  arrive  at  the 
rendezvous  in  their  respective  States,  where  they  will  be  final- 
ly discharged.  Those  who  remain  will  be  formed  in  battalions 
and  companies,  for  the  ^present,  until  the  new  battalions  are 
composed.  As  soon  as  the  troops  of  a  line  are  discharged,  the 
senior  officer  will,  with  the  general's  order,  conduct  them  to 
the  place  assigned  for  their  final  dissolution.  If  the  soldiers 
could  be  made  sensible  that  this  plan  for  their  dismissal  was 
adopted  that  they  might  return  to  their  States  with  that  honor 
and  dignity  which  their  service  merits,  and  that  the  least  dis- 
order, excess,  or  want  of  subordination,  would  be  more  dis- 
graceful on  this  than  on  any  other  occasion,  and  would  .... 
the  merits  of  their  past  service,  it  would,  in  all  probability, 
have  the  best  consequence." 

This  prudent  advice,  though  approved  by  the  commander- 
in-chief,  could  not,  however,  be  realized,  on  account  of  the 
hurry  with  which  the  army,  for  fear  of  disturbance,  was  dis- 
solved. The  troops  dispersed  without  control  or  order,  and 
without   any  ceremony.     A  great   many  bitter   remarks  of 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  513 

Steuben,  in  regard  to  this  matter,  will  be  found  in  the  Ap- 
pendix. 

Washington  further  asked  Steuben's  opinion  on  a  final 
peace  establishment,  while  General  Lincoln,  the  Minister  at 
War,  requested  his  sentiments  on  the  establishment  of  a  mili- 
tary academy  and  manufactory. 

"I  had  the  honor,"  wrote  Steuben  on  the  15th  of  April, 
1783,  to  Washington,*  "yesterday,  of  receiving  your  letter 
requesting  my  sentiments  on  a  final  establishment.  I  am 
sorry  that  my  knowledge  of  our  frontiers  and  of  the  sea  coast 
will  not  permit  me  to  answer  your  Excellency's  wishes.  I  am 
firmly  of  opinion  that  whatever  troops  may  be  kept  up,  that 
they  should  be  entirely  Continental,  forming  a  division  or 
brigade,  from  which  division  or  brigade  the  ....  post  may 
be  garrisoned  by  battalions  or  companies.  By  such  a  form- 
ation the  order  and  regularity  which  has  been  introduced  into 
our  service  would,  in  a  great  measure,  be  preserved.  The 
pay  for  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  for  the 
peace  establishment  ought,  in  my  opinion,  be  less  than  the 
pay  of  those  grades  are  at  present.  It  is  but  reasonable  that 
troops  on  a  peace  establishment  should  receive  less  than  in 
time  of  actual  war,  and  if  these  emoluments  should  be  paid 
regularly,  a  small  sum  would  suffice  to  answer  all  their  real 
wants,  and  some  imaginary  ones.  I  am  also  of  opinion  that 
no  rations  should  be  furnished  to  troops  on  a  peace  establish- 
ment, but  the  money  at  which  they  are  valued  ....  for  the 
troops,  provided  they  are  paid  weekly.  In  the  present  move- 
ment there  are  other  establishments  which  deserve  to  be  at- 
tended to — the  establishment  of  military  academies  and  man- 
ufactories; those,  as  well  as  the  other  matters,  are,  in  my 
opinion,  of  sufficient  consequence  to  require  the  deliberation 
of  a  committee  of  Congress  and  the  general  officers  of  the 
army." 

And  on  the  21st  of  April  he  continues:  "I  have  the  honor 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xii. 


514  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

to  inclose  to  your  Excellency  my  thoughts  on  a  peace  es 
tablishment  for  our  interior  defenses.  How  far  my  plan  is 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  United  States,  and 
whether  it  will  agree  with  the  principles  of  our  government,  I 
am  not  able  to  determine.  This  I  am  certain  of,  that  we  have 
need  of  a  regular  force  for  the  protection  of  our  frontiers- 
that  our  militia  ought  to  be  on  a  regular  establishment ;  and 
that  the  establishment  of  military  schools  and  manufactories 
will  be  the  best  means  for  providing  for  our  security  in  future ; 
and  that  a  system  of  this  nature  will  make  us  more  respectable 
with  the  powers  of  Europe  than  if  we  should  keep  fifty  thou- 
sand men  in  pay."* 

In  his  letter  of  the  16th  of  April,  1783,  transmitting  his 
plan  of  a  military  academy  to  Lincoln,  Steuben  says,  among 
other  things : 

"  Want  of  time  prevented  me  from  detailing  the  different 
objects  I  had  in  view,  which  I  wished  the  more  as  I  wanted 
to  answer  all  and  any  objections  and  doubts  which  might  be 
raised  as  to  my  statements.  The  calculation,  however,  is  very 
just,  the  expense  taken  at  the  highest,  and  the  result  at  a  very 
moderate  rate.  The  appointments  and  salaries  in  all  the  classes 
are  such,  that  England,  Germany  and  France  will  furnish  ac- 
ceptable teachers.  The  ideas  which  you  communicated  to  me 
served  me  as  a  direction  in  regard  to  the  number.  Several 
objects  require  a  more  detailed  explanation.  I,  therefore, 
should  like  to  be  present  when  the  plan  will  be  taken  into 
consideration." 

"  I  have  been  honored,"  answered  Lincoln,  on  the  24th  of 
April,  1783,f  "with  your  favor  of  the  16th  inst.,  covering  a 
system  for  the  military  academy. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  obliged  by  your  attention  to  this  sub- 
ject; and  for  your  well-digested  and  judicious  arguments, 
please  to  accept  my  most  cordial  thanks. 

*  Steuben's  views  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in  tho  Appendix. 
\  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  515 

"I  am  fully  convinced  as  to  what  is  the  interest  of  the 
United  States,  but  I  can  not  be  so  certain  what  line  of  conduct 
they  will  pursue.  However,  the  committee  have  under  con- 
sideration your  observations.  If  I  differ  from  them  in  my 
report,  it  will  not  be  because  I  think  them  ill  calculated  to 
promote  the  general  interest,  but  from  a  full  conviction  that 
so  necessary  and  extensive  a  plan  can  not  be  carried  in  Con- 
gress. I  hope  you  will  be  heard  before  your  plan  is  rejected. 
"If  the  very  best  measure  can  not  be  obtained,  we  must 
at  present  be  content  with  the  next  best." 

"I  have  received  your  plans,"  wrote  II.  Peters,  to  whom 
Steuben  had  just  given  his  opinion  about  the  line  of  conduct 
to  be  pursued  towards  prisoners  of  war,  on  the  6th  of  May, 
1783,  "and  given  them  to  the  committee  on  peace  establish- 
ment. You  know  how  much  I  value  all  your  military  opinions, 
and  therefore  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  find  much  to  ...  . 
in  the  ....;*  but  if  I  were  to  go  into  the  details  my 
answer  would  be  wordy,  and  possibly  not  well  grounded.  All 
of  them  will  not  be  adopted,  but  they  will  furnish  a  very 
respectable  part  of  any  building  we  may  erect." 

Steuben's  plan  for  the  establishment  of  a  military  academy 
and  manufactory,  which  he  made  at  the  request  of  the  Sec- 
retary at  War  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  drafts 
he  made  at  this  time.  How  far  it  served  as  a  basis  for  the 
military  school  at  West  Point  (established  in  1803),  we  are 
not  able  to  judge,  but  it  will  easily  be  seen,  by  competent 
judges,  from  the  following  particulars.  Steuben's  leading  idea 
in  regard  to  the  school  was  the  creation  of  an  institution 
similar  to  the  Prussian  cadet  houses,  as,  for  instance,  Potsdam 
and  Berlin,  in  which  young  men  are  educated  for  officers.  He 
says  :f 

"1.  The   establishment    shall  consist  of  a  military  acad- 
emy and  a  military  manufactory,  the  direction  and  government 

*  The  blanks  aro  occasioned  by  the  defects  of  the  original  MS. 
f  Stenben  MS.  Paper?,  Utica. 


516 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN 


of  which  shall  be  committed  to  a  director  general,  the  four 
senior  officers  of  the  establishment,  and  two  professors  of  the 
academy,  who  shall  be  called  the  council  of  directors. 

"2.  The  superior  and  inferior  officers,  the  professors  and 
masters  of  the  academy  shall  be  appointed  by  Congress. 

"3.  Commissioners  appointed  by  Congress  shall  yearly 
examine  the  administration  of  the  establishment,  to  whom  the 
council  of  directors  shall  expose  their  accounts,  and  give  every 
information,  respecting  the  establishment,  which  may  be  re- 
quired of  them. 

"4.  One  hundred  and  twenty  young  gentlemen,  under  the 
denomination  of  volunteer  cadets,  shall  be  educated  every 
three  years,  eighty  of  whom  shall  be  destined  for  the  infantry, 
twenty  for  the  cavalry,  and  twenty  for  the  engineers  and  ar- 
tillery. 

"5.  No  person  shall  be  received  as  a  volunteer  cadet 
under  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  nor  without  having  received 
what  is  called  a  grammar-school  education. 

"  6.  No  cadet  shall  be  obliged  to  enter  into  the  army 
against  his  inclination,  but  shall  be  at  liberty  to  choose  what 
career  he  pleases. 

"  7.  Each  cadet  shall  pay  for  his  board,  clothing  and  in- 
struction, three  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 

"  8.  If  a  cadet  leaves  the  academy  before  his  three  years 
expire,  he  shall  be  deprived  of  a  certificate  and  the  benefits 
thereof. 

u  9.  Each  cadet  shall  be  instructed  in  the  following  sciences 
and  aits:— Natural  and  experimental  philosophy,  eloquence 
and  the  belles  Icttres,  civil  law  and  the  law  of  nations,  his- 
tory and  geography,  mathematics,  civil  architecture,  draw- 
ing, the  French  language,  horsemanship,  fencing,  dancing,  and 
music. 

"Independent  of  the  above,  those  cadets  designed  for  the 
artillery  and  engineers,  will  receive  particular  instructions  from 
the  officers  of  this  corps. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 


517 


"  10.  The  cadets  shall  live  in  a  convenient  house ;  they  will 
eat  at  four  different  tables,  which  will  be  cleanly  and  equally 
served,  and  at  each  of  which  an  officer  will  preside  in  rotation. 
They  will  be  uniformly  habited,  and  subject  to  the  rules  of 
the  academy.  The  clothing  (except  linen),  and  subsistence 
will  be  furnished  by  the  establishment. 

"11.  There  will  be  five  professors,  for  each  of  whom  a 
convenient  house  will  be  constructed,  and  land  annexed  suf- 
ficient for  a  yard  and  garden.  They  will  also  receive  the  pay 
and  emoluments  mentioned  in  the  list  of  appointments. 

"  Professors :  one  of  mathematics,  one  of  history  and  geog- 
raphy, one  of  the  law  of  nations  and  civil  law,  one  of  natural 
and  experimental  philosophy,  one  of  eloquence  and  the  belles 
lettres. 

"12.  There  will  be  seven  masters  of  arts,  who  will  have 
convenient  houses  and  gardens,  with  the  pay  and  emoluments 
noted  in  the  list  of  appointments. 

"  Masters :  one  of  architecture,  one  of  drawing,  one  of 
the  French  language,  one  of  riding,  one  of  dancing,  one  of 
fencing,  one  of  music. 

"  The  rules  and  statutes  for  the  academy  shall  be  formod 
by  the  first  council  of  directors,  or  by  persons  named  by  Con- 
gress, whose  sanction  shall  be  necessary  to  their  existing  as  a 
permanent  ordinance. 

"  Congress  will  recommend  the  passing  a  law  by  which  no 
person  shall  be  employed  as  an  officer  in  the  army,  who  has 
not  served  as  an  ofiicer  in  the  late  war,  or  received  his  educa- 
tion at  one  of  the  military  academies,  and  can  produce  a  cer- 
tificate, signed  by  the  director  general,  of  his  capacity. 

"  The  rank  of  each  cadet  will  be  shown  by  the  date  of  his 
certificate,  and  if  an  army  should  be  formed,  the  first  class 
would  serve  as  captains,  the  second  as  lieutenants,  and  the 
third  as  ensigns." 

The  manufactory  connected  with  the  above  school  con- 
sisted, according  to  Steuben's  plan,  of  six  hundred  men  em- 


518  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ployed  iii  the  different  branches;  viz.,  of  seven  master  artifi- 
cers, twenty  artificers  of  the  first  class,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
artificers  of  the  second  class,  twenty-six  common  tradesmen, 
three  hundred  and  ninety-six  common  workingmen.  The  man- 
ufactories in  which  they  had  to  work,  were:  1st.  A  manufac- 
tory of  cannon  powder  which  was  to  furnish  one  thousand 
barrels  per  annum,  at  $16  a  barrel;  2d.  A  manufactory  of 
iron  to  cast  four  hundred  tons  of  ore  into  cannon,  mortars,  how- 
itzers, shells  and  shot ;  3d.  A  manufactory  of  bar  iron  to  fur- 
nish one  hundred  tons,  each  ton  at  $50 ;  4th.  A  manufactory 
of  carriages  to  furnish  one  hundred  and  twenty  carriages  a 
year  at  $100  a  piece  ;  5th.  A  manufactory  of  fire-arms  to  fur- 
nish three  thousand  four  hundred  muskets  at  $6  a  piece,  five 
hundred  carabines  at  $4,  and  five  hundred  pair  of  pistols  at 
$4  ;  6th.  A  manufactory  of  white  arms  to  furnish  three  thou- 
sand swords  for  the  cavalry  at  $2,  three  thousand  four  hun- 
dred bayonets  at  $1  a  piece,  five  hundred  lances  and  five  hun- 
dred hatchets  ;  7th.  A  manufactory  of  leather,  to  famish 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  cartridge  boxes  at  $2  a  piece, 
three  thousand  scabbards  for  swords,  three  hundred  bridles, 
three  hundred  saddles  and  three  hundred  halters ;  8th.  A  brass 
foundery  to  cast  annually  eight  field-pieces,  six  pounders;  eight 
field-pieces,  three  pounders ;  eight  howitzers  of  eight  inches, 
and  eight  howitzers  of  five  and  a  half  inches  ;  9th.  A  complete 
laboratory  for  the  artillery. 

Steuben  computed  the  costs  and  expenses  of  both  estab- 
lishments at  $142,636  per  year.  Deducting  from  them  the 
articles  manufactured,  at  $95,950,  and  the  tuition  fee  received 
from  one  hundred  and  twenty  cadets  at  $300  per  head,  at 
$36,000;  a  balance  was  left  of  $10,686,  to  be  charged  to  the 
United  States. 

"Among  the  annual  salaries  we  quote  :  director  general  to 
receive  $2,832  ;  each  assistant  teacher  $1,488,  in  all,  $8,784  ; 
five  professors,  $6,721  ;  five  masters  of  arts  and  tutors,  $3,264  ; 
hospital  department,  $4,212  ;  eighty  infantry  cadets,  $21,384  ; 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEX.  519 

twenty  cavalry  cadets,  $5,124  ;  twenty  artillery  and  engineer 
cadets,  $5,472." 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  order  of  the  Cincinnati 
was  formed,  in  the  establishment  of  which  Steuben  took  a 
very  prominent  part.  As  we  shall  have  to  refer  to  it  in  another 
chapter,  we  relate  here  the  last  incidents  of  the  war,  and  Steu- 
ben's participation  in  the  memorable  events  which  ended  the 
year  1783. 

His  position  in  the  army  just  about  to  dissolve,  is  best 
characterized  by  the  following  letter  which  the  officers  of  the 
two  New  York  regiments,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1783,  addressed 
to  Steuben,  before  they  left  their  quarters.  It  reads  as  fol- 
lows :* 

"The  objects  for  which  we  took  upon  us  the  profession  of 
arms  being  accomplished,  we  are  now  about  to  retire  from  the 
field  and  return  to  the  class  of  private  citizens. 

"  But  before  wre  separate  for  ever,  permit  us,  the  officers 
of  the  two  New  York  regiments,  to  express  our  feelings  to- 
ward you  on  this  occasion. 

"  The  essential  and  distinguished  services  you  have  ren- 
dered this  country,  must  inspire  the  breast  of  every  citizen 
of  America  with  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  esteem.  But 
Ave,  sir,  feel  sentiments  of  another  nature.  Your  unremitted 
exertions  on  all  occasions  to  alleviate  the  distress  of  the  army, 
and  the  manner  in  which  you  have  shared  them  with  us,  have 
given  you  more  than  a  common  title  to  the  character  of  our 
friend — as  our  military  parent  we  have  long  considered  you. 
Ignorant  as  we  were  of  the  profession  we  had  undertaken,  it 
is  to  your  abilities  and  unwearied  assiduity  we  are  indebted 
for  that  military  reputation  we  finally  attained.  We  there- 
fore feel  ourselves  bound  to  you  by  the  strongest  ties  of  affec- 
tion, and  we  now  take  leave  of  you  with  that  regret  which 
such  sentiments  must  occasion.  Wishing  you  long  to  enjoy  in 
health  and  happiness  those  rewards  which  your  services  have 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica, 


520  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

merited,  and  which  a  grateful  people  can  not  fail  to  bestow. 
We  have  the  honor  to  remain  yours,"  etc. 

The  last  duty  which  Steuben  performed  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  was  a  mission  which  he  undertook  by  order 
of  the  commander-in-chief  to  Canada.  Washington  selected 
him  as  the  most  proper  person  to  claim  from  General  Haldi- 
mand,  the  governor  of  that  province,  the  delivery  of  the  posts 
on  the  frontier  territory  ceded  to  the  United  States.  This 
mission,  although  it  afterward  proved  unsuccessful,  was  the 
more  honorable  as  it  required  at  the  same  time  a  sound  mil- 
itary and  political  judgment.  The  following  instructions 
were  given  by  Washington  to  Steuben,  on  the  12th  of  July, 
1783:* 

"  In  consequence  of  powers  in  me  invested  for  that  pur- 
pose, I  do  hereby  authorize  and  desire  you  to  proceed  with 
such  dispatch  as  you  shall  find  convenient,  into  Canada,  and 
there  concert  with  General  Haldimand,  or  other  British  com- 
mander-in-chief in  that  province,  all  such  measures  as  you  shall 
find  necessary  for  receiving  possession  of  the  posts  now  under 
his  command  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  and  at 
present  occupied  by  the  troops  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  and 
from  which  his  said  majesty's  troops  are  to  be  withdrawn, 
agreeably  to  the  seventh  article  of  the  provisional  treaty  be- 
tween his  said  majesty  and  the  United  States  of  America. 

"  In  accomplishing  this  negotiation  you  will  obtain,  if  pos- 
sible, from  General  Haldimand  his  assurances  and  orders  for 
the  immediate  possession,  by  the  United  States,  of  the  posts 
in  question,  or  at  least  a  cession  of  them  at  an  early  day.  But 
if  this  can  not  be  done,  you  will  endeavor  to  procure  from  him 
positive  and  definitive  assurances,  that  he  will  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble give  information  of  the  time  that  shall  be  fixed  on  for  the 
evacuation  of  those  posts,  and  that  the  troops  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty  shall  not  be  drawn  therefrom  until  sufficient  previous 
notice  shall  be  given  of  that  event,  that  the  troops  of  the 
*  Washington's  Writings,  viii.,  pp.  462-464. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEX.  521 

United  States  may  be  ready  to  occupy  the  fortresses  as  soon  as 
they  shall  be  abandoned  by  those  of  his  Britannic  Majesty. 

"  You  will  propose  to  General  Haldiraand,  an  exchange  of 
such  artillery  and  stores  now  in  the  posts,  as  you  shall  think 
proper,  and  which  you  shall  judge  will  be  of  benefit  to  the 
United  States,  agreeing  with  the  British  commander-in-chief, 
that  an  equal  number  of  cannon,  and  an  equal  quantity  and 
kind  of  stores,  to  wdiat  he  may  consent  to  exchange,  shall  be 
replaced  to  his  Britannic  Majesty  by  the  United  States,  at  such 
time  and  place  as  shall  be  fixed  on,  by  you,  for  the  purpose. 

"  Having  formed  your  arrangements  with  General  Haldi- 
mand,  you  will  be  pleased  to  proceed  in  such  manner  as  you  shall 
think  best,  to  visit  the  several  posts  and  fortresses  on  the  fron- 
tier territory  of  the  United  States,  as  far  as  Detroit ;  view  their 
different  situation,  strength,  and  circumstances ;  and,  forming 
your  judgment  of  their  relative  position,  and  probable  advan- 
tage to  the  United  States,  you  will  report  the  same  to  me, 
with  your  opinion  of  such  of  them  as  you  shall  think  it  most 
expedient  for  the  United  States  to  retain  and  occupy.  In  pass- 
ing Lake  Champlain  you  will  critically  observe  the  width  of 
the  waters  at  the  northern  extremity,  and  the  nature  of  the 
ground  adjoining ;  with  a  view  to  determine  whether  there 
is  any  spot  south  of  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude, 
and  near  our  extreme  boundary,  on  which  it  will  be  conven- 
ient, should  Congress  judge  it  expedient,  to  erect  fortifications, 
which  Would  command  the  entrance  from  Canada  into  that 
lake. 

"  At  Detroit  you  will  find  a  very  considerable  settlement, 
consisting  mostly  of  French  people  from  Canada.  To  these 
you  will  please  to  intimate  in  the  fullest  manner  the  good  dis- 
position of  Congress  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
for  their  welfare  and  protection,  expressing  at  the  same  time 
to  them  our  expectations  of  finding  the  like  disposition  in 
them  toward  us,  and  the  post  which  we  may  establish  there, 
and  any  future  settlement  which  may  be  formed  in  their  neigh- 


522  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

borhood  by  the  subjects  of  the  United  States.  As  the  advanced 
season,  or  other  unforeseen  accidents,  may  render  it  difficult  to 
get  a  detachment  of  American  troops  to  that  place  before  it 
may  be  convenient  for  the  British  garrison  to  be  withdrawn 
from  that  post,  you  will  do  well  to  engage,  in  this  case,  some 
one  or  more  of  the  respectable  and  well-disposed  inhabitants 
of  the  district  to  provide  a  company  of  militia  (if  there  beany) 
or  others,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  to  take  charge 
of  the  works  and  buildings  of  the  fortress,  assuring  them  such 
reasonable  pay  as  shall  be  deemed  adequate  to  their  service, 
or  as  you  may  condition  for.  You  will  also  make  particular 
inquiry  whether  the  farmers  or  merchants  of  Detroit  are  able 
or  willing  to  supply  an  American  garrison  at  that  post  with 
provisions  and  ether  necessaries,  and  upon  what  terms." 

Washington  himself  at  the  same  time  visited  the  northern 
and  north-western  part  of  the  State  of  New  York,  as  far  as  the 
Mohawk  river  and  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 
order  eventually  to  assist  Steuben,  and  to  facilitate  the  opera- 
tions which  would  be  necessary  for  occupying  as  soon  as  evac- 
uated by  British  troops,  the  posts  ceded  by  the  treaty  of 
peace.* 

In  compliance  with  his  instructions,  Steuben  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  Canada,  and  arrived  at  Chamblee  on  the  2d  of  Au- 
gust, whence  he  sent  Major  North  to  announce  his  arrival  to 
General  Ilaldimand.  According  to  the  latter's  appointment, 
they  met  at  Sorel,  on  the  8th,  where  Steuben  opened  the  busi- 
ness on  which  he  was  sent. 

"  To  the  first  proposition  which  I  had  in  charge  to  make," 
reports  he  to  Washington,  on  the  23d  of  August,  I783,f  "Gen- 
eral Ilaldimand  replied  that  he  had  not  received  any  orders 
for  making  the  least  arrangement  for  the  evacuation  of  a  sin- 
gle post ;  that  he  had  only  received  orders  to  cease  hostilities  ; 
those  he  had  strictly  complied  with,  not  only  by  restraining  the 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  viii.,  4G9. 

\  Qorrospoodence  of  the  Revolution,  iy„  41,  42. 


* 

t 

LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  523 

British  troops,  but  also  the  savages,  from  committing  the  least 
hostile  act ;  but  that,  until  he  should  receive  positive  orders 
for  that  purpose,  he  would  not  evacuate  an  inch  of  ground.  I 
informed  him  that  I  was  not  instructed  to  insist  on  an  imme- 
diate evacuation  of  the  posts  in  question,  but  that  I  was  or- 
dered to  demand  a  safe  conduct  to,  and  a  liberty  of  visiting 
the  posts  on  our  frontiers,  and  now  occupied  by  the  British, 
that  I  might  judge  of  the  arrangements  necessary  to  be  made 
for  securing  the  interests  of  the  United  States.  To  this  he 
answered  that  the  precaution  was  j)rematnre  ;  that  the  peace 
was  not  yet  signed  ;  that  he  was  only  authorized  to  cease  hos- 
tilities ;  and  that,  in  this  point  of  view,  he  could  not  permit 
that  I  should  visit  a  single  post  occupied  by  the  British.  Nei- 
ther would  he  agree  that  any  kind  of  negotiation  should  take 
place  between  the  United  States  and  the  Indians,  if  in  his 
power  to  prevent  it,  and  that  the  door  of  communication 
should,  on  his  part,  be  shut,  until  he  received  positive  orders 
from  his  court  to  open  it.  My  last  proposal  was  that  he  should 
enter  into  an  agreement  to  advise  Congress  of  the  evacuation 
of  the  posts,  three  months  previous  to  their  abandonment. 
This,  for  the  reason  before  mentioned,  he  refused,  declaring 
that  until  the  definitive  treaty  should  be  signed,  he  would  not 
enter  into  any  kind  of  agreement  or  negotiation  whatever. 

"  I  esteem  myself  very  unfortunate  that  I  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  the  business  with  which  I  was  charged,  and  am  only 
consoled  by  the  idea  that  your  Excellency  will  believe  that 
every  thing  which  was  in  my  power  to  do  was  done  to  answer 
the  wishes  of  your  Excellency  and  of  Congress." 

Not  having  any  thing  to  hope  from  a  continuance  of  the 
negotiations,  Steuben  left  St.  John's  on  the  13th  of  August ; 
arrived  at  Saratoga  on  the  21st  of  August,  and  having  restored 
his  weakened  health,  returned  to  head-quarters,  where  he  re- 
sumed his  old  duties  till  the  army  was  finally  disbanded.  Con- 
gress, on  the  18th  of  October,  1783,  discharged  all  officers  and 
soldiers  from  service,  and  retained  only  those  who  had  enlisted 


524  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

for  a  definite  time,  till  the  new  peace  establishment  was  organ- 
ized. On  the  recommendation  of  Steuben,  Major  William  North 
was  appointed  inspector  of  the  troops  who  were  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Knox.  Steuben  at  this  time  left  head-quar- 
ters by  order  of  the  general-in-chief,  and  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  dissolved  the  posts  still  outstanding,  gave  orders  for 
the  sick  and  invalid  soldiers,  and  emptied  the  hospitals.  The 
performance  of  these  duties  kept  him  until  the  latter  part  of 
November,  when  he  returned  to  head-quarters. 

The  British  soon  after  evacuated  New  York,  and  on  the 
25th  of  November,  1783,  Washington,  with  his  staff  officers, 
entered  the  city.  Steuben  was  among  them,  and  took  part 
in  all  the  festivities  attendant  on  the  occasion,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  4th  of  December,  when  the  commander-in-chiet 
left  New  York  to  proceed  to  Annapolis,  Maryland,  to  resign 
his  command  into  the  hands  of  Congress. 

Washington,  even  an  hour  before  retiring  to  private  life, 
remembered  Steuben's  merits  and  devoted  service  to  the  great 
cause  which  was  now  triumphant.  lie  honored  him  with  a  tes- 
timonial more  flattering  than  any  he  ever  gave  to  the  other  offi- 
cers of  the  revolutionary  army,  thus  recanting  his  former  harsh 
judgment  which  confounded  Steuben  with  the  crowd  of  foreign 
adventurers  who  offered  their  services  in  the  first  years  of  the 
war.  This  was  his  last  letter  while  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try, and  in  this  respect,  too,  is  an  interesting  historical  docu- 
ment.    It  reads  as  follows  :* 

"  Anxapolis,  December  23,  1*783. 
"  My  Dear  Baron, — 

"  Although  I  have  taken  frequent  opportunities,  both  in 
public  and  in  private,  of  acknowledging  your  great  zeal,  at- 
tention and  abilities,  in  performing  the  duties  of  your  office, 
yet  I  wish  to  make  use  of  this  last  moment  of  my  public  life, 
to  signify,  in  the  strongest  terms,  my  entire  approbation  of 
your  conduct,  and  to  express  my  sense  of  the  obligations  the 

*  Yvrashington'd  Writings,  vol.  viii.,  p.  503. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  525 

public  is  under  to  yoiu  for  your  faithful  and  meritorious  ser- 
vices. 

u  I  beg  you  will  be  convinced,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  should 
rejoice  if  it  could  ever  be  in  my  power  to  serve  you  more  es- 
sentially than  by  expressions  of  regard  and  affection  ;  but, 
in  the  meantime,  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  be  displeased 
with  this  farewell  token  of  my  sincere  friendship  and  esteem 
for  you. 

"  This  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  write  while  I  continue  in  the 
service  of  my  country.  The  hour  of  my  resignation  is  fixed 
at  twelve  to-day,  after  which  I  shall  become  a  private  citizen, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  where  I  shall  be  glad  to  em- 
brace you,  and  testify  the  great  esteem  and  consideration  with 
which  I  am,  my  dear  baron,"  etc. 

Steuben  answered  :* 

"  The  letter  of  the  23d  of  December,  which  I  have  had 
the  honor  of  receiving  from  your  Excellency,  is  the  most  hon- 
orable testimony  which  my  serving  could  have  received.  My 
first  wish  was  to  approve  myself  to  your  Excellency,  and  in 
having  obtained  your  esteem  my  happiness  is  complete.  The 
confidence  your  Excellency  was  pleased  to  place  in  my  integ- 
rity and  abilities  gained  me  that  of  the  army  and  of  the  United 
States.     Your  approbation  will  secure  it. 

"A  stranger  to  the  language  and  customs  of  the  country, 
I  had  nothing  to  offer  in  my  favor  but  a  little  experience  and 
a  great  good  will  to  serve  the  United  States.  If  my  endeav- 
ors have  succeeded,  I  owe  it  to  your  Excellency's  protection, 
and  it  is  a  sufficient  reward  for  me  to  know  that  I  have  been 
useful  in  your  Excellency's  operations,  which  always  tended 
to  the  good  of  our  country. 

"  After  having  studied  the  principles  of  the  military  art 
under  Frederick  the  Great,  and  put  them  in  practice  under 
Washington,  after  having  deposited  my  sword  under  the  same 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


520  LIFE      O  F      S  T  E  U  BEX. 

trophies  of  victory  with  you,  and  finally  after  having  received 
this  last  public  testimony  of  your  esteem,  there  remains  noth- 
ing for  me  to  desire. 

"Accept  my  sincere  thanks,  my  dear  general,  for  the  une- 
quivocal proofs  of  your  friendship,  which  I  have  received  since 
I  had  first  the  honor  to  be  under  your  orders,  and  believe  that 
I  join  my  prayers  to  those  of  America  for  the  preservation  of 
your  life,  and  for  the  increase  of  your  felicity." 

i  On  the  12th  of  November,  1783,  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
War  had  become  vacant,  in  consequence  of  General  Lincoln's 
resignation,  and  the  attention  of  the  majority  of  Congress  for 
this  office  was  now  concentrated  on  Steuben  and  General 
Knox.  The  only  objection  made  against  the  former  was  that 
he  was  a  foreigner,  and  that  a  foreigner  could  not  be  trusted 
with  a  post  of  such  importance.  This  objection,  absurd  as  it 
was,  settled  the  question,  and  while  nobody  disputed  Steuben's 
superior  knowledge  in  his  science,  and  in  the  administration  of 
the  army,  Kuox,  the  native  candidate,  got  the  appointment. 
Steuben  did  not  conceal  his  indignation  at  being  compelled  to 
yield  to  such  a  stupid  pretext.  "The  man,"  said  he,  in  a  let- 
ter upon  this  subject,  "  who  had  abandoned  all  his  appoint- 
ments, and  the  brightest  prospects  in  Europe,  to  devote  his 
services  to  the  United  States,  who  had  served  them  with  zeal 
and  fidelity  during  a  war  of  seven  years  as  critical  as  trying  ; 
the  man  who  had  got  possessions  in  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
New  York  and  New  Jersey — with  what  effrontery  could  he 
be  called  a  foreigner  !  As  to  the  importance  of  this  ministe- 
rial office,  the  man  who  had  organized  the  whole  American 
army  in  the  midst  of  the  war ;  the  man  who  solely  had  estab- 
lished and  put  in  execution  the  principles  of  strict  military 
rules:  this  man  can  not  be  intrusted  with  the  administration 
of  a  corps  of  four  hundred  men  in  time  of  peace !  What  fine 
reasoning !  But,  in  fact,  Mr.  Knox  had  engaged  the  delegates 
of  Massachusetts  to  secure  to  him  this  place.  His  own  State 
could  not  provide  him  with  a  post  worthy  of  his  ambition,  and 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  527 

therefore  the  Confederation  had  to  give  him  a  suitable  appoint- 
ment. Without  disputing  his  knowledge  in  the  art  of  artil- 
lery, I  dare  to  assert,  that  on  my  arrival  at  the  army,  it  had 
no  idea  of  maneuvering  with  a  single  field-piece,  and  that  I 
was  the  first  who  taught  them  to  make  use  of  their  cannons  in 
the  attack  and  retreat."* 

Steuben  gave  in  his  resignation  on  the  24th  of  March,  1784, 
which  Congress  accepted  on  the  15th  of  April.  To  smooth 
his  exasperated  feelings,  Congress  promised  soon  to  settle  his 
claims  against  the  United  States,  and  resolved, f  "That  the 
thanks  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  be  given 
to  Baron  Steuben  for  the  great  zeal  and  abilities  he  has  dis- 
covered in  the  discharge  of  the  several  duties  of  his  office  ; 
that  a  gold-hilted  sword  be  presented  to  him,  as  a  mark  of  the 
high  sense  Congress  entertain  of  his  character  and  services ; 
and  that  the  superintendent  of  finance  take  order  for  procur- 
ing the  same." 

This  sword  was  presented  to  Steuben  three  years  after- 
wards, on  the  4th  of  January,  1787,  with  the  following  letter 
from  General  Knox : 

""War  Office,  January  4,  1787. 

"  Sir, — The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  by  their 
act  of  the  15th  of  April,  1784,  expressed  their  high  sense  of 
your  military  talents,  services,  and  character,  and  as  an  honor- 
able evidence  thereof  they  directed  that  a  gold-hilted  sword 
should  be  presented  to  you.  It  is  with  great  satisfaction  I 
embrace  the  occasion  of  presenting  you  with  the  invaluable 
memorial  of  their  sentiments  and  your  eminent  merits. 

"  Were  it  possible  to  enhance  the  honor  conferred  by  the 
sovereign  authority,  it  would  be  derived  from  the  consider- 
ation that  their  applause  was  reciprocated  by  the  late  illus- 
trious commander-in-chief,  and  the  whole  army," 

To  which  letter  Steuben,  on  the  5th  of  January,  returned 
the  following  polite  answer : 

*  Steuben  MS-  Papers,  vol.  xi.  f  Res.  of  Congress,  vol.  ix.,  p.  128. 


528  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

"  I  have  been  honored  with  your  letter,  and  Captain  Stagg 
has  delivered  me  the  sword  which  the  United  States  were 
pleased  to  order  by  their  act  of  the  15th  of  April,  1784. 

"Permit  me,  sir,  to  request  that  you  would  express  to 
Congress  the  high  sentiments  of  respect  and  acknowledgment 
with  which  I  receive  this  distinguished  mark  of  their  regard. 

"  To  a  soldier  such  sentiments  are  ever  dear,  and  that  this 
is  accompanied  with  the  approbation  of  our  late  commander- 
in-chief,  of  yourself,  and  the  army  in  general,  will  always  be 
my  greatest  glory. 

"Accept,  sir,  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  very  nattering 
manner  in  which  you  have  communicated  this  present,  and 
believe  me,"  etc. 

Iu  the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser  of  the  11th  of  January, 
1787,  from  which  we  quote  the  above  letters,  the  following 
description  of  the  sword  is  given: 

"It  was  made  in  London,  under  the  direction  of  Colonel 
Smith,  and  executed  by  the  first  workmen  in  that  kingdom. 
The  small  medallions  on  each  side  of  the  top  of  the  hilt,  pre- 
sent an  eagle  perched  on  a  bunch  of  arrows,  with  a  wreath 
of  laurel  in  her  bill,  and  wings  extended  ready  to  rise.  The 
modest  genius  of  America  fills  the  front  medallion  on  the  hilt, 
dressed  in  a  flowing  robe,  ornamented  with  the  new  constella- 
tion, holding  an  olive  branch  in  her  riiyht  arm,  and  a  dagger 
in  her  left  hand,  and  the  fair  field  of  liberty  flourishing  in  the 
background.  It  is  answered  on  the  opposite  side  with  the 
full  figure  of  Minerva,  in  martial  dress,  robed  and  ornamented 
with  the  same  stars;  the  bird  of  wisdom  is  seated  near;  her 
left  hand  being  extended,  presents  the  olive  branch,  while  the 
right  is  properly  supported  by  the  spear ;  this  figure  is  mar- 
tial and  gay — the  other  is  mild,  and  modestly  embraces  the 
olive  branch,  but  holds  the  dagger  with  firmness.  The  bow 
of  the  hilt  presents  drums,  colors,  halberts,  etc.,  etc.  The 
sword  and  Blue  Book*  fill  the  two  lower  ones — two  eagles, 

*  "  The  baron's  excellent  regulations  for  our  army,  commonly  called  the 
Blue  Book." — Editors  of  the  Advertiser. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  529 

seated  on  knots  of  colors,  surrounded  with  stars,  and  holding 
a  sprig  of  an  olive  branch  in  the  bill,  with  extended  wings,  are 
emblems  of  peace  and  protection,  under  the  sword  and  Blue 
Book  (which  our  country  can  not  too  strictly  attend  to).  The 
two  opposite  medallions  are  filled  with  trophies  of  war,  and  the 
following  inscription,  modestly  placed  out  of  view  under  the 
shield  :  'The  United  States  to  Major  General  Baron  Steuben, 
15th  April,  1784,  for  military  merit.'  " 

23 


CHAPTER     XXV. 

Treatment  of  the  Revolutionary  Officers  ox  the  part  of  the  United  States. — IN- 
GRATITUDE OF  REPUBLICS. — MONARCHIES  MORE  GRATEFUL. — TlIE  UNITED  STATES  FOR- 
FEIT their  Word. — They  refuse    to  do  Justice   to   their   Officers. — Way  in 

WHICH   THEY    WERE   TREATED. — RESOLUTION    OF    THE  26tH  OF   APRIL,    1778,    GRANTING 

Half  Pay  for  Life,  repealed  by  Resolution  of  the  15th  of  May,  granting  Half 
Pay  for  only  Seven  Years. — Unjust  Jealousy  of  the  People  against  the 
Officers. — Frivolous  Complaints  against  them. — Washington  tries  to  com- 
promise in  Favor  of  the  Officers. — His  Endeavors  partly  crowned  wrrn 
Success  in  October,  1780. — Ex-Parte  Repeal  of  the  old  Law  by  new  Con- 
gress.— Mean  Attempts  to  justify  this  Breach  of  Promise. — Memorial  of  the 
Officers  of  December,  17S2. — The  Newburg  Addresses. — Washington  inter- 
feres.— Final  Settlement  of  the  Officers1  Claims. — Steuben's  Situation  at 
the  End  of  the  War. — He  is  more  Helpless  than  his  Brothers  in  Arms.— His- 
tory of  ms  Negotiations  with  Congress  for  getting  his  Claims  settled. — 
The  Conditions  under  which  he  entered  the  Service  of  Congress. — Resolu- 
tions of  the  30th  of  December,  1782. — Steuben  in  resigning  wants  a  final 
Settlement. — No  Resolution  arrived  at. — Specification  of  his  Claims. — 
Congress  goes  to  Trenton. — Steuben's  Demands  unfavorably  looked  upon. — 
His  Motives  suspected. — The  Validity  of  his  Agreement  with  Congress  ques- 
tioned.— A  Committee  appointed  for  examining  Steuben's  Claims. — It  pro- 
poses to  pay  him  Seven  Thousand  Dollars  as  Reward  for  his  Services. — 
Steuben  does  not  want  a  Reward  but  Justice. — Hamilton's  Letter  to 
Washington. — Steuben's  personal  Friends  pronounce  in  Favor  of  his  Claim. 
— He  prints  a  Pamphlet  and  distributes  it  among  the  Members  of  Congress. 
— Hamilton  to  Washington  about  the  Necessity  of  satisfying  Steuben.— 
Washington  agrees  with  Hamilton. — A  new  Committee  appointed. — It  meets 

WITH   UNFORESEEN   DIFFICULTIES. — It   DOES   NOT   ARRIVE    AT   A    CONCLUSION. — STEU- 

ben's  Destitution. — Armstrong's  Letter. — The  First  Congress  under  the 
new  Constitution  resumes  the  Matter. — Alexander  Hamilton,  then  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  reports  favorably. — New  Committee  in  Favor  of 
Steuben. — Its  Proposals  accepted. — Steuben  gets  an  Annuity  of  Twenty 
Five  Hundred  Dollars.— Speech  of  Mr.  Page.— Importance  of  this  Act. 

REPUBLICS  are  accused  of  ingratitude  toward  tliose  who 
have  done  them  good  service,  more  often  than  any  other 
government ;  comparisons  are  drawn  between  the  absolutist 
and  free  forms  of  political  society,  in  order  to  show  that  kings 
and  princes  are  the  more  grateful  in  recompensing  their  faith- 
ful servants. 

Although  it  can  not  be  denied  that  the  sovereign  power, 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  531 

when  vested  in  an  individual,  has  a  greater  personal  interest  to 
prove  its  gratitude  to  those  who  served  its  ends,  than  a  gov- 
ernment which  only  temporarily  represents  the  people,  we 
nevertheless,  can  not  admit  that  this  reproach  is  justified. 

The  very  nature  of  government  excludes  gratitude.  There 
are  too  many  in  Office,  or  desirous  of  office,  who  claim  its  full 
attention,  and  do  not  allow  it  to  indulge  in  feelings  of  acknowl- 
edgment; the  dead  are  forgotten,  and  those  out  of  office  nec- 
essarily overlooked.  The  people  at  large  have  a  short  mem- 
ory, they  are  directed  by  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and 
control  each  other  in  the  instinct  of  their  narrow-minded  in- 
terests. Here  and  there  a  brilliant  exception — as  in  this  coun- 
try, for  instance,  the  honors  bestowed  upon  Washington — con- 
firms the  general  rule,  and  all  the  hard  sufferings,  all  the  glo- 
rious deeds  of  great  men  would  soon  be  forgotten,  were  it  not 
the  pious  task  of  the  historian  to  preserve  them  for  the  benefit 
of  future  generations. 

The  United  States,  far  from  being  grateful,  have  been  par- 
ticularly forgetful  in  regard  to  their  great  men.  In  no  coun- 
try of  the  world  do  they  make  so  pompous  a  display  of  them 
and  remember  so  little  what  they  have  done.  As  an  example, 
Nathaniel  Greene,  after  Washington,  the  greatest  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war,  a  man  who  had  almost  no  equals  in  a  great 
period,  and  contributed  so  largely  to  the  establishment  of  the 
national  independence,  is  forgotten ;  the  spot  where  his  ashes 
repose  is  not  known.  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  great  legisla- 
tor and  statesman,  one  of  the  eminent  founders  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  is  hardly  spoken  of  but  by  pro- 
fessional men  ;  the  people  at  large  do  not  know  him ;  while  in 
other  countries,  which  at  least  honor  their  deceased  heroes, 
public  places  would  be  adorned  with  his  statues,  school-rooms 
decorated  with  his  busts,  and  private  houses  ornamented  with 
his  portraits.  It  really  appears  that  in  this  country  the  enthu- 
siastic veneration  of  Washington  excludes  any  recollection  of 
the  services  of  his  compeers. 


6  32  1 ( 1  F  E      OF      ST  E  UK  E  N  . 

But  be  this  as  it  may,  we  do  not  require  gratitude  on  the 
part  of  a  government ;  all  we  can  ask,  and  what  we  have  a 
right  to  ask,  is  justice  and  the  strict  fulfillment  of  its  obliga- 
tions, governments  having  their  duties  as  well  as  their  rights, 
the  due  performance  of  the  one  being  the  best  title  to  the 
other ;  but  even  in  this  respect  the  United  States  failed  in 
their  dealings  with  the  revolutionary  officers. 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  fact  is  afforded  by  the  eight 
years'  negotiation  which  Steuben  had  with  Congress  for  the 
settlement  of  his  claims.  It  is  our  unpleasant  office  to  give 
the  history  of  these  proceedings,  which  have  been  often  em- 
ployed to  cast  a  reproach  on  the  character  and  disinterested- 
ness of  Steuben.  In  order  to  be  just  and  to  make  them  clear- 
ly understood  and  considered  in  the  spirit  of  their  time,  we 
must,  before  entering  into  the  particulars  of  Steuben's  de- 
mands, refer  to  the  treatment  which  the  revolutionary  officers 
in  general  experienced  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  pay  of  the  American  army  was  originally  so  small  that 
it  offered  to  those  that  had  f-imilies  dependent  upon  them, 
an  inadequate  support.  And  so  early  as  1778,  Washington, 
perceiving  the  ill  effects  that  must  arise  from  the  mistaken 
policy  of  Congress  toward  the  army,  addressed  the  president 
of  Congress  in  the  first  of  a  series  of  most  able  letters,  which 
extend  through  the  five  following  years. 

Accordingly  Congress  resolved,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1778, 
that  provision  should  be  made  for  the  officers  of  the  army 
after  the  close  of  the  war.  Five  days  afterward,  a  proposi- 
tion was  carried  that  half  pay  be  granted  to  them  for  life, 
to  commence  at  the  end  of  the  war;  the  next  day  it  was  re- 
solved, that  the  United  States  should  have  the  right  to  redeem 
the  half  pay  for  life  by  giving  to  the  officer  entitled,  four  years' 
half  pay,  and  on  the  loth  of  May  Congress  substituted  for  the 
whole  scheme  a  provision  of  half  pay  for  seven  years. 

It  was  soon  found  that  the  resolution  of  the  15th  of  May 
was  wholly  inadequate,   and  Washington    again   pressed  the 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  533 

subject  upon  the  attention  of  Congress.  On  the  11th  of  Aug- 
ust, 1779,  eight  States  against  four  voted  that  the  half  pay 
granted  by  the  resolve  of  the  15th  of  May,  be  extended  so  as 
to  continue  for  life;  and  on  the  17th  it  was  further  resolved, 
that  this  extension  be  deemed  suspended,  and  that  it  be  rec- 
ommended to  the  States  that  had  not  already  adopted  meas- 
ures for  that  purpose,  to  make  an  adequate  provision  for  the 
officers  enlisted  for  the  war,  who  should  remain  in  service  till 
the  establishment  of  peace.  Pennsylvania  had  already  voted 
to  her  officers  half  pay  for  life,  but  no  other  State  followed  her 
example,  or  heeded  the  recommendations  of  Congress. 

In  the  autumn  of  1780,  Washington  again  applied  to  Con- 
gress, and  on  the  21st  of  October  a  resolution  was  passed  that 
half  pay  for  life  should  be  granted  to  such  officers  as  should 
remain  in  service  till  the  end  of  the  war. 

From  this  time  the  officers  remained  in  the  service,  re- 
lying upon  this  resolution  in  the  belief  that  the  public  faith 
would  be  kept  with  them.  But  the  resolution  of  Congress  ot 
1780  was  supplanted  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation, 
whose  members  could  not  be  brought  to  see  that  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  21st  of  October,  1780,  was  a  compact  with  the 
officers,  obligatory  upon  every  succeeding  Congress.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  maintained  that  the  resolve,  having  passed  be- 
fore the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  signed,  could  not  bind 
Congress  under  the  Confederation,  as  that  instrument  required 
the  votes  of  nine  States  for  an  appropriation  of  money. 

Nothing,  therefore,  was  done,  and  the  officers  of  the  Con- 
tinental army  fearing  it  would  be  disbanded  before  their  claims 
would  be  settled,  destitute  of  money  and  of  credit,  oppressed 
with  debts  and  with  the  sufferings  of  their  families  at  home, 
presented,  in  December,  1782,  a  memorial  to  Congress,  in 
which  they  offered  to  commute  the  half  pay  for  life  granted 
to  them  by  the  resolution  of  October,  1780,  for  full  pay  for  a 
certain  number  of  years,  or  for  a  reasonable  sum  in  gross. 
The  committee,  chosen  from  among  the  officers  themselves, 


534  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN, 

to  advocate  their  claims,  waited  upon  Congress  until  March, 
1783,  when  they  wrote  to  their  constituents  that  nothing  had 
been  done.  On  the  10th  of  March,  the  famous  Newburg  let- 
ter made  its  appearance  in  the  army.  It  was  written  with 
great  ability  and  skill,  and  called  upon  the  officers  of  the 
army  at  Newburg  to  meet  together  to  consider  the  late  let- 
ter from  their  committee  at  Philadelphia.  Although  it  was 
anonymous,  it  is  well  known  it  was  written  by  John  Arm- 
strong, a  major  in  the  army. 

The  crisis  called  forth  all  Washington's  conciliatory  tact 
and  firmness.  He  issued  an  order  at  once  forbidding  an  as- 
semblage at  the  call  of  an  anonymous  paper,  and  directing  the 
officers  to  assemble  on  the  18th  of  March,  to  hear  a  report  of 
their  committee  at  Philadelphia,  and  to  determine  what  course 
should  be  pursued  for  the  future.  The  senior  officer  in  rank 
was  directed  to  preside  and  to  report  the  result  of  the  meeting 
to  the  commander-in-chief 

On  the  next  day  after  the  issuing  of  this  order,  a  second 
anonymous  letter  appeared  from  the  same  writer.  In  this  pa- 
per he  affected  to  consider  the  order  of  Washington  as  a  sanc- 
tion of  the  whole  proceeding  which  the  writer  had  proposed. 
Washington  saw  at  once  the  necessity  of  being  present  at 
the  meeting ;  and  by  his  influence,  aided  by  Putnam,  Knox, 
Brooks  and  Howard,  resolutions  were  adopted  in  which  the 
officers,  after  reasserting  their  grievances,  and  rebuking  all 
attempts  to  seduce  them  from  their  allegiance,  referred  the 
whole  subject  of  their  claims  again  to  the  consideration  of 
Congress. 

The  effect  of  these  resolutions  was  the  passage  by  Congress 
of  certain  resolves,  on  the  22d  of  March,  1783,  commuting  the 
half  pay  for  life  to  five  years'  full  pay  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
to  be  received  at  the  option  of  Congress,  in  money,  or  in  such 
securities  as  were  given  to  other  creditors  of  the  United  Slates. 
In  July  the  accounts  of  the  army  were  ordered  to  be  adjusted, 
and  after  the  disbanding  of  the  army  in  October,  1783,  tha 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  535 

officers  passed  in  the  whole  mass  of  the  creditors  of  the  Con- 
federation.* 

Steuben's  position  was  quite  different  from  that  of  his 
brother  officers  when  he  retired  to  private  life.  Old,  fatigued, 
and  without  resources,  in  a  foreign  country,  he  stood  helpless 
and  alone.  He  knew  none  of  the  civil  occupations  by  which 
others  succeeded,  in  gaining  an  honorable  existence ;  he  had 
nothing  to  rely  on  but  his  past  services  to  assure  him  a  liveli- 
hood during  his  declining  years.  He  expected  that  Congress  at 
once  would  do  justice  to  his  claims;  but  when  American  officers 
were  treated  in  so  mean  and  miserly  a  way,  a  foreigner  had 
still  less  reason  to  hope  that  his  claims,  however  just,  would  be 
acknowledged. 

It  took  Steuben  no  less  than  seven  years  to  arrive  at  a  final 
settlement  with  Congress. 

As  stated  above,  in  chapter  V.,  Steuben,  in  February, 
1778,  when  asked  by  Congress  on  what  conditions  he  would 
enter  the  service  of  the  United  States,  declared  to  a  commit- 
tee sent  to  him  for  this  purpose,  that  he  had  come  to  offer  his 
services  as  a  volunteer,  and  asked  neither  rank  nor  pay  ;  that 
if  the  United  States  failed  in  their  revolution,  or  if  he  did  not 
give  satisfaction  in  his  operations,  he  asked  nothing ;  but  that, 
leaving  to  their  generosity  any  other  reward  of  his  services,  if 
at  the  end  of  the  war  they  should  meet  the  approbation  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  if  the  great  object  of  independence 
should  finally  be  accomplished,  he  expected  not  only  a  reim- 
bursement of  all  his  expenses  incurred  in  coming  to  America, 
but  also  an  indemnification  for  the  emoluments  which  he  was 
obliged  to  renounce  in  order  to  devote  his  services  to  the 
United  States. 

Congress  thanked  Steuben  for  this  generous  and  disinter- 
ested tender  of  his  talents,  and  directed  him  to  join  the  army 
without  delay,  whereupon  he  set  out  for  the  camp. 

*  George  Ticknor  Curtis:  History  of  the  Origin,  Formation,  and  Adoption 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  i.,  158. 


536  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

During  the  whole  war  he  fulfilled,  as  we  have  seen,  his  en- 
gagements like  a  good  general  and  a  man  of  honor.  The  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States  was  acknowledged  by  a  peace 
with  Great  Britain,  as  advantageous  as  glorious  to  the  United 
States,  for  which  it  now  remained  to  fulfill,  among  others,  their 
engagements  with  Steuben.  As  long  as  the  war  lasted  they 
seemed  to  have  been  conscious  of  their  obligations.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1782,  Steuben  made  an  application  to  Congress  to  have  his 
accounts  liquidated  and  to  obtain  some  further  assurances  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  engagement  on  the  part  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  towards  him.  As  stated  in  chapter  XXIII.,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  for  this  purpose,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
A.  Hamilton,  Clark  and  Carroll,  on  the  30th  of  December, 
1782.* 

They  made  their  report,  in  which  the  amount  of  the  com- 
pensation was  left  blank.  But  a  verbal  proposal  was  agitated 
in  Congress,  to  pay  Steuben  a  gross  sum  often  thousand  guin- 
eas, in  full  discharge  of  all  claims  and  demands  whatever. 
The  payment  of  the  revenue  which  he  had  sacrificed,  and  for 
the  indemnification  of  which  he  had  stipulated,  he  feared 
might  be  regarded  as  a  pension,  and  in  that  light  be  disagree- 
able to  the  country.  lie  therefore  resolved  to  limit  his  claim 
to  a  gross  sum,  payable  in  Europe  in  such  reasonable  install- 
ments as  to  obviate  any  difficulties  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  in  paying  it.  The  sum  which  he  fixed  amounted  to 
£10,000.  The  resolution  of  Congress  on  this  subject  was  de- 
ferred, because  it  was  suggested  that  the  public  finances  were 
utterly  deranged,  and  that  Congress  would  be  embarrassed 
by  a  number  of  foreign  officers  then  at  Philadelphia,  who 
might  be  induced  to  increase  their  demands,  on  such  generous 
treatment  being  given  to  Steuben.  Always  retaining  the  full- 
est confidence  in  Congress,  he  acquiesced  in  the  reasons  given 
and  rejoined  the  army. 

On  the  24th  day  of  March,  1784,  when  Steuben  sent  in  his 
*  Congressional  Debates,  viii.,  51. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  537 

resignation,  he  repeated  bis  request  for  a  final  arrangement  of 
his  business.  Mr.  E.  Gerry  then  proposed  that  the  sum  of 
$4:0,000  should  be  given,  as  an  indemnification  and  satisfac- 
tion of  all  his  claims,  but  that  the  $9,000  for  his  commutation 
should  be  included  therein.  The  resolve  of  Congress,  of  April 
15,  1784,  then  sitting  at  Annapolis,  shows  a  promise  of  ample 
justice,  and  ordered  that  till  the  most  speedy  and  efficacious 
means  of  satisfying  his  demands  were  procured,  in  the  mean- 
time the  sum  of  $10,000  should  be  advanced  to  him  on  ac- 
count. This  sum  was  indeed  paid  to  him,  but  at  different  pe- 
riods and  with  irregularity  and  loss,  and  was  deducted  from 
his  pay  and  commutation  as  major  general.  It  was,  however, 
objected  by  some  that  Steuben's  demands  were  exorbitant ; 
that  his  avarice  was  insatiable,  and  that  he  was  not  to  be  sat- 
isfied with  any  fixed  sums,  however  large.  In  closely  examin- 
ing his  claims  they  do  not  at  all  appear  indefinite.  They  are, 
on  the  contrary,  fixed  to  a  certain  specific  sum,  which  is  by 
no  means  exorbitant.  According  to  the  stipulations  which  he 
made  in  entering  the  service,  he  asked  :* 

1st.  The  reimbursement  of  his  expenses  in  coming  to  America,  at  620  louisdors : 

In  dollars, $2,815.80 

Interest  thereon  for  ten  years  at  7  per  cent,  .        .         .      1,971.08 

2d.  The  payment  of  a  loan,  made  IT 78,  at  Gerard  &  Beaumarchais' 
agent,  to  defray  his  camp  equipage,  horses,  etc.,  1,400 

louisdors, 6,358.32 

Interest  thereon  for  nine  years,  at  7  per  cent.,         .         .       .       4,005.72 
3d.  Indemnification  for  a  yearly  revenue  of  580  louisdors,      .       .     52,683.32 

$67,834.24 

*  Steuben  made  at  different  times,  different  statements,  setting  forth  his 
claims.  Their  principal  item,  however,  viz.,  the  indemnification  for  his 
yearly  revenue  of  five  hundred  and  eighty  louisdors,  is  in  all  the  same,  and 
other  apparent  inconsistencies  are  caused  by  the  difference  of  the  accumu- 
lated interest.  We  have  chosen  the  account  which  in  1787  he  laid  before  Con- 
gress. Deducting  from  its  net  amount  the  unsettled  items,  3  and  4,  it  is 
even  less  than  the  result  of  the  Secretary  of  Treasury's  account,  of  1790. 
This  gentleman  arrives  at  a  balance  of  $7,396.££-  in  Steuben's  favor,  while 
he  himself  asks  only  $998.24, 

23* 


538  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Brought  over, $67,834.24 

4th.  The  above-named  revenue  of  580  louisdors  since  his  resigna- 
tion, in  March,  1783  to  September,  1787,  being  four  and 
a  half  years,  without  interest, 11853.72 


Total> $79,687./B 

Received  on  account : 

Traveling  expenses  in  1779,  150  louisdors,  .         .  $681.24 

Interest  thereon,  eight  years,  at  7  per  cent,          .  381.48 

Commutation  as  major  general,     .         .         .         .  9,090.00 

.     A  gratification  of 7,000.00—17,152.72 


Balance  due,  $62,535.£f 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  which  Steuben  had  fixed  on  as  full  compensation  for 
every  thing,  was  not  exorbitant,  but  fell  short  of  what  was  in 
justice  due  to  him.  When  he  had  decided  to  limit  his  claim 
to  the  sum  before  mentioned,  he  consulted  with  several  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  who  all  thought  the  proposition  reasonable, 
and  promised  to  support  it.  From  Annapolis  Congress  soon 
after  moved  to  Trenton,  and  Steuben  again  presented  himself 
to  them  for  a  final  decision  on  his  demands. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  nature  of  the  affair  be^an  to 
change  its  face.  Hitherto  Steuben  had  been  treated  with  a 
degree  of  respect,  but  now  the  language  was  changed,  and 
some  of  the  members  of  Congress  not  only  acted  in  open 
opposition  to  his  claims,  but  even  did  not  refrain  from  sug- 
gestions injurious  to  his  character  as  a  man  of  honor.  They 
denied  the  validity  of  the  engagements  on  whiuh  Steuben 
founded  his  claim,  they  depreciated  his  services,  and  suggested 
that  the  sacrifice  of  a  revenue  in  Europe  was  not  proved,  but 
that,  like  other  needy  adventurers,  he  had  come  over  to  seek 
employ  in  this  country;  some  even  insinuated  that  he  was 
paid  by  the  court  of  France  for  his  services  in  America,  and 
from  these  suggestions  or  impressions,  a  system  of  opposition 
was  formed  against  his  demands. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 


539 


However  mortifying  these  proceedings  were  to  Steuben, 
it  was  some  consolation  that  they  were  supported  by  a  very 
small  minority  in  Congress,  sufficient,  however,  to  defeat  the 
intentions  of  a  respectable  minority,  who  at  all  times  were 
disposed  to  do  him  justice. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1785,  Congress  removed  to  New 
York.  A  majority  of  them  then  pressed  for  a  decision  on 
the  affair,  and  another  committee  was  appointed  to  examine 
his  pretensions.  The  opposition  denied  the  existence  of  the 
engagement  at  York,  but  agreed  that  Steuben  merited  a 
reward.  The  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  proposed, 
then  a  less  sum,  and  finally  they  passed  the  following  reso- 
lution: "That  in  full  consideration  of  the  Baron  De  Steuben 
having  relinquished  different  posts  of  honor  and  emoluments 
in  Europe,  and  rendered  the  most  essential  services  to  the 
United  States,  he  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States  the  sum  of  seven  thousand  dollars,  in  ad- 
dition to  former  grants." 

It  appeared  evident  by  this  act,  that  no  contract  or  en- 
gagement was  recognized ;  the  grant  is  expressed  to  be  as  a 
reward  for  his  services  and  sacrifices. 

"The  poor  baron,"  writes  Alexander  Hamilton,  on  the 
23d  of  November,  1785,  to  Washington,*  "is  still  soliciting 
Congress,  and  has  every  prospect  of  indigence  before  him. 
He  has  his  imprudences,  but,  upon  the  whole,  he  has  rendered 
valuable  services,  and  his  merits,  and  the  reputation  of  the 
country  alike  demand  that  he  should  not  be  left  to  suffer  want. 
If  there  could  be  any  mode  by  which  your  influence  could  be 
employed  in  his  favor,  by  writing  to  your  friends  in  Congress, 
or  otherwise,  the  baron  and  his  friends  would  be  under  great 
obligations  to  you." 

In  consequence  of  this  formal  attempt  to  evade  the  con- 
tract, it  became  Steuben-s  duty  to  prove  that  it  existed.     At 
the  time  he  laid  his  terms  before  the  committee,  it  certainly 
*  Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolution,  by  .T.  Sparks.  i\\,  122. 


540 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 


did  not  enter  his  head  to  execute  a  written  agreement  before 
a  notary  public ;  in  making  stipulations  with  a  sovereign  he 
had  not  conceived  it  necessary;  lie  had,  therefore,  nothing  in 
writing  to  show.  The  Journals  of  Congress  were  searched, 
but  nothing  was  to  be  found.  All  that  could  be  done  was  to 
appeal  to  the  individuals  with  whom  he  had  treated.  He  ac- 
cordingly wrote  to  Dr.  Witherspoon,  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee,  Mr.  Gerry,  then  member  of  Congress,  Mr.  Peters,  the 
secretary  of  the  board  of  war,  to  Mr.  Duer,  member  of  Con- 
gress and  of  the  board  of  war.  These  gentlemen,  without 
hesitation,  certified  to  the  facts  which  passed  at  the  time,  and 
these  certificates  corroborated  all  that  Steuben  had  advanced 
on  the  subject.  In  answer  to  the  other  objections  and  to  the 
suggestions  which  had  been  thrown  out,  Steuben  collected  a 
number  of  letters  and  papers  tending  to  show  that  he  was  not 
a  needy  adventurer  as  had  been  insinuated,  nor  the  pensioner 
of  France  in  the  service  of  America. 

Steuben,  from  an  unwillingness  to  trust  wholly  to  his  own 
judgment  in  a  matter  which  so  immediately  interested  him, 
concluded  to  take  the  advice  of  some  friends,  on  whose  sense  of 
justice  he  could  rely.  With  this  view  he  submitted  the  state- 
ment of  facts,  and  the  certificates  accompanying  it,  to  John  Jay, 
Chancellor  Livingston,  Alexander  Hamilton,  James  Duane  and 
Mr.  Duer,  requesting  them  to  favor  him  with  their  impartial 
opinion  of  the  merits  of  his  pretensions.  These  gentlemen, 
after  deliberate  consideration  of  the  papers  laid  before  them, 
unanimously  declared  it  to  be  their  sentiment,  that  the  trans- 
actions vouched  by  the  certificates  produced  to  them,  amount- 
ed, in  substance,  to  a  contract  binding  in  good  faith  on  the 
United  States. 

Steuben  then  printed  a  iew  copies  of  this  state  of  facts, 
with  the  several  letters  and  papers  annexed,  and  gave  a  copy 
to  each  member  of  Congress  for  their  information,  and  pre- 
sented a  memorial  to  Congress  insisting  on  the  justice  of  his 
pause. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  541 

"  I  send  you,"  writes  A.  Hamilton  to  Washington,  on  the 
30th  of  October,  1787,*  "at  the  request  of  the  Baron  Do 
Steuben,  a  printed  pamphlet  containing  the  grounds  of  an  ap- 
plication lately  made  to  Congress. 

"  He  tells  me  there  is  some  reference  to  you,  the  object  of 
which  he  does  not  himself  seem  clearly  to  understand  ;  but 
imagines  it  may  be  in  your  power  to  be  of  service  to  him. 
There  are  public  considerations  that  induce  me  to  be  some- 
what anxious  for  his  success.  He  is  fortified  with  materials 
which,  in  Europe,  could  not  fail  to  establish  the  belief  of  the 
contract  he  alleges.  The  documents  of  service  he  possesses 
are  of  a  nature  to  convey  an  exalted  idea  of  them.  The  com- 
pensations he  has  received,  though  considerable,  if  compared 
with  those  which  have  been  received  by  American  officers, 
will,  according  to  European  ideas,  be  very  scanty  in  applica- 
tion to  a  stranger  who  is  acknowledged  to  have  rendered  es- 
sential services.  Our  reputation  abroad  is  not,  at  present,  too 
high.  To  dismiss  an  old  soldier,  empty  and  hungry,  to  seek 
the  bounty  of  those  on  whom  he  has  no  claims,  and  to  com- 
plain of  unkind  returns  and  violated  engagements,  will  cer- 
tainly not  tend  to  raise  it,  I  confess,  too,  there  is  something 
in  my  feelings  which  would  incline  me,  in  this  case,  to  go  fur- 
ther than  might  be  strictly  necessary,  rather  than  drive  a  man, 
at  the  baron's  time  of  life,  who  has  been  a  faithful  servant,  to 
extremities.  And  this  is  unavoidable  if  he  does  not  succeed 
in  his  present  attempt.  What  he  asks  would,  all  calculations 
made,  terminate  in  this— an  allowance  of  his  five  hundred  and 
fifty  guineas  a  year.  He  only  wishes  a  recognition  of  the  con- 
tract. He  knows,  that  until  affairs  mend,  no  money  can  be 
produced.  I  do  not  know  how  far  it  may  be  in  your  power 
to  do  him  any  good  ;  but  I  shall  be  mistaken  if  the  considera- 
tions I  have  mentioned  do  not  appear  to  your  Excellency  to 
have  some  weight," 

"I  thank  you,"  answers  Washington,  on  the  10th  of  No- 

*  Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolution,  by  J.  Sparks,  iv.,  1 89. 


542  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

vember,  1787,*  "for  the  pamphlet  contained  in  your  letter  of 
the  30th  ultimo. 

"  Application  has  been  made  to  me  by  Mi*.  Secretary 
Thompson  (by  order  of  Congress),  for  a  copy  of  a  report  of  a 
committee  which  was  appointed  to  confer  with  Baron  Steu- 
ben on  his  first  arrival  in  this  country,  forwarded  to  me  by 
Mr.  President  Laurens.  This  I  have  accordingly  sent.  It 
throws  no  other  light  on  the  subject,  than  such  as  is  derived 
from  the  disinterested  conduct  of  the  baron.  No  terms  are 
made  by  him,  nor  will  he  accept  of  any  thing  but  with  gen- 
eral approbation.  I  have,  however,  in  my  letter  inclosing 
the  report  to  the  Secretary,  taken  occasion  to  express  an  un- 
equivocal wish  that  Congress  would  reward  the  baron  for  ser- 
vices, sacrifices,  and  merits,  to  his  entire  satisfaction.  It  is 
the  only  wray  in  which  I  could  bring  my  sentiments  before 
that  honorable  body,  as  it  has  been  an  established  rule  with 
me  to  ask  nothing  from  it." 

Another  committee  wTas  appointed,  and  every  effort  made 
to  throw  obstacles  in  the  way.  It  was  even  suggested  that 
the  certificate  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  not  genuine;  the  doc- 
tor was  called  before  the  committee  and  the  question  put  to 
him,  whether  the  committee,  which  had  treated  with  Steuben 
and  of  which  he  had  been  chairman,  had  made  a  contract  with 
him,  when  the  doctor  very  justly  answered,  that  they  had  no 
such  authority,  that  they  were  appointed  only  to  hear  Steu- 
ben's terms  and  report  to  Congress.  This  answer  wras  consid- 
ered sufficient  to  show  that  no  contract  was  made,  and  that 
consequently  none  existed.  It  was  further  objected,  that  there 
were  several  members  of  the  committee,  and  that  the  certifi- 
cate of  one  only  wTas  produced.  Steuben  wrote  to  the  others, 
and  their  testimony  also  was  brought  forward.  They  then 
called  on  Steuben  to  prove  that  what  he  had  asserted,  with 
respect  to  his  revenue  in  Europe,  was  true.  He  told  them  that 
he  had  already  satisfied  Congress  on  that  subject;  that  the  let- 
*  "Washington's  Writings,  by  J.  Sparks,  ix.,  275  and  270. 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  543 

ters  be  brought  over  from  Dr.  Franklin,  announced  the  rank 
and  dignity  he  held  in  Europe  ;  and  that  for  the  honor  of  the 
United  States  he  would  produce  no  further  proof  on  this  occa- 
sion. 

Before  any  thing  decisive  was  done,  some  of  the  members 
of  the  committee  left  Congress ;  another  committee  was  after- 
ward appointed,  but  they  also  broke  up  without  doing  any 
thing,  and  thus  the  matter  was  referred  from  committee  to 
committee,  and  from  one  Congress  to  another.  At  last  a  re- 
port was  brought  in  and  entered  on  the  journals  ;  a  majority, 
however,  disapproved  it,  and  it  was  again  committed.  Another 
report  was  then  made,  more  favorable  to  Steuben's  preten- 
sions ;  no  question,  however,  was  taken  on  it ;  it  was  not  en- 
tered on  the  journals.  Finally,  Steuben  proposed  that  the 
validity  of  his  agreement  should  be  submitted  to  any  three 
chief  justices  of  the  United  States.  Nothing,  however,  was 
determined,  but  the  matter  left  undecided,  when  Congress 
broke  up  in  November,  1788. 

About  the  unfortunate  situation  in  which  Steuben  found 
himself  involved  at  that  time,  General  J.  Armstrong  thus 
writes  on  the  30th  of  May,  1788,  to  General  Gates :*  "The 
baron  passed  the  winter  at  the  same  lodging-house  with  me. 
To  this  he  has  come  at  last.  The  Louvre  is  dismantled  and 
deserted,  and  he  is  once  more  upon  the  justice  and  generosity 
of  the  public.  But  the  public  lias  neither,  and  he  has  only  to 
choose  between  starving  here  and  begging  in  Europe.  This 
is  calamitous  to  him  and  disgraceful  to  us.  He  is  now  with 
North." 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  different  sums  which  Steuben 
had  received  since  the  peace,  having  been  paid  to  him  in  small 
amounts  at  distant  periods,  the  payments  had  always  been  an- 
ticipated by  his  wants,  and  had  not  prevented  his  being  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  his  friends  for  fresh  loans  to  support  his 

*  Gates  MS.  Papers,  xix.,  238. 


544  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

current  expenses.    Nevertheless,  Steuben  found  himself  drained 
of  every  resource. 

The  matter  stood  thus  when  the  first  Congress,  under  the 
new  Constitution,  assembled.  On  the  25th  of  September,  1789, 
the  House  referred  another  memorial  of  Steuben,  in  which  he 
reiterated  in  substance  the  above-quoted  facts,  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  who,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1790,  laid  his  report 
before  the  House,  and  after  due  and  careful  examination  of  all 
the  vouchers,  letters  and  documents,  arrived  at  the  following 
conclusion  : 

"  The  statement  made  by  the  memorialist  of  what  passed 
in  the  conference  at  York,  is  authenticated  by  such  strong,  di- 
rect, and  collateral  evidence,  as  ought,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Secretary,  to  secure  full  credit  to  the  existence  of  the  fact. 
Waiving  the  regard  due  to  the  memorialist's  own  assertion,  it 
is  not  supposable  that  if  his  representation  had  been  ill-founded 
it  could  have  obtained  the  sanction  of  so  many  disinterested 
persons,  agents  in,  or  witnesses  to  the  transactions.  Notwith- 
standing this,  it  may  be  inferred,  as  well  from  the  written  re- 
port of  the  committee  as  from  other  circumstances,  that  the 
idea  of  a  precise  contract  did  not  generally  prevail.  It  is  prob- 
able that,  as  the  indemnity  and  reward  for  the  sacrifices  and 
services  of  the  baron  were  by  him  made  to  depend  on  the  suc- 
cess of  a  national  revolution,  the  mention  of  them  was  viewed 
rather  as  a  suggestion  of  expectations  than  as  a  stipulation  of 
terms.  This  might  the  more  easily  have  happened,  as  it  is 
presumable  that  the  situation  of  affairs  at  the  time  must  have 
disposed  Congress  to  consider  an  officer  who  had  had  the  op- 
jjortunities  of  the  memorialist  as  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
service,  and  to  regard  a  compliance  with  the  expectations  in- 
timated by  him,  in  the  event  of  success,  as  too  much  a  matter 
of  course  to  need  a  stipulation. 

"  This  view  of  the  affair  appears  to  the  Secretary  to  af- 
ford a  satisfactory  solution  of  any  difficulties  which  might 
result  from  seemingly  discordant  circumstances,  and  to  place 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  545 

all  the  parts  of  the  transaction  in  a  simple  and  consistent 
light. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  as  it  can  not  with  propriety 
be  questioned  that  a  conversation  of  the  kind  stated  by  the 
baron  did  take  place  at  the  conference  at  York ;  as  the  ser- 
vices rendered  by  him  to  the  United  States  are  acknowledged 
to  have  been  of  a  very  signal  and  very  meritorious  nature  ; 
as  the  expectations  alleged  to  have  been  signified  by  him  in 
the  conference  are,  all  of  them,  reasonable  in  themselves,  be- 
ing nothing  more  than  that  his  necessary  expenses,  while  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  should  be  defrayed  by  them, 
and  that,  in  case  they  should  establish  their  independence, 
and  he  should  be  successful  in  his  endeavors  to  serve  them, 
then  he  should  receive  an  indemnification  for  the  income  he 
had  elinquished  in  coming  to  this  country,  and  to  such  marks 
of  the  generosity  of  the  government  as  its  justice  should  dic- 
tate. The  Secretary  is  of  opinion  that,  whether  the  trans- 
action relied  upon  by  the  baron  be  deemed  to  have  the  force 
of  a  contract  or  not,  it  will  be  most  consistent  with  the  dig- 
nity and  equity  of  the  United  States  to  admit  it  as  the  basis 
of  a  final  adjustment  of  his  claims. 

"  Should  this  opinion  appear  well  founded,  it  will  remain 
to  designate  the  rule  by  which  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
memorialist  are  to  be  adjusted.  Taking  it  for  granted  that 
his  actual  expenses  will  not  be  deemed  a  proper  one,  there 
occurs  to  the  Secretary  no  better  criterion  than  the  current 
allowances  annexed  to  the  stations  he  filled.  This  excludes 
the  half  pay  or  commutation.  It  is  presumed  that  the  current 
allowances  to  the  officers  of  the  American  army  in  general, 
were  regulated  wholly  with  a  view  to  their  respective  situa- 
tions, and  the  half  pay  granted  as  a  future  reward.  Accord- 
ing to  this  principle,  the  Secretary  has  caused  an  account  to 
be  stated,  in  which  the  memorialist  is  credited  with  his  emol- 
uments as  major  general  and  inspector  general  (exclusive  of 
half  pay  or  commutation),  and  with  an  annuity  of  five  hundred 


546 


LIFE      OF      STEU15E  N 


and  eighty  guineas,  being  the  amount  of  the  income  stated  to 
have  been  relinquished  by  him,  from  the  time  he  left  Europe 
to  the  last  of  December,  1789,  with  interest  at  six  per  cent, 
per  annum,  and  is  charged  with  all  the  moneys,  under  what- 
ever denomination,  received  by  him  from  the  United  States, 
with  interest  at  the  like  rate  ;  upon  which  statement  there  is 
a  balance  in  his  favor  of  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety-six  dollars  and  seventy-four  ninetieths.  In  addition  to 
this,  he  would  be  entitled  for  the  remainder  of  life  to  the  yearly 
sum  of  five  hundred  and  eighty  guineas,  as  a  continuation  of 
the  indemnity  for  the  income  relinquished  ;  and  to  such  reward 
as  the  government,  in  its  discretion,  should  think  lit  to  allow, 
for  which  purpose  a  moderate  grant  of  land,  if  deemed  expe- 
dient, would  suffice. 

"  The  Secretary  begs  leave  further  to  state,  that  there  is 
good  ground  to  believe  that  the  above-mentioned  balance  will 
be  short  of  a  sufficient  sum  to  discharge  the  debts  now  owing 
by  the  memorialist,  and  contracted  partly  to  enable  him  to 
come  to  this  country,  and  partly  for  his  subsistence  here  ;  and 
in  the  last  place  to  observe,  that  the  memorialist,  who,  being 
a  foreigner,  voluntarily  came  to  offer  his  services  to  the  United 
States,  in  a  critical  and  perilous  moment,  and  who,  from  the 
circumstauce  of  his  having .  been  a  foreigner,  is  less  likely  to 
participate  in  the  collateral  rewards  which,  in  numerous  in- 
stances, await  those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
American  Revolution  (while  he  cm  not,  like  many  other  for- 
eign officers,  look  for  rewards  elsewmere),  gives  a  peculiarity 
to  his  case  which  strengthens  his  own  pretensions.  That  it 
appears  unequivocally  that  his  services  have  been  of  a  nature 
peculiarly  valuable  and  interesting  to  the  American  cause,  and 
such  as  furnish  weighty  considerations,  as  well  public  as  per- 
sonal, for  rescuing  him  from  the  indigence  in  which  he  is  now 
involved,  and  from  the  still  greater  extremities  with  which  he 
is  threatened.  A  settlement,  on  the  principles  suggested  in 
this  report,  will  terminate  all  the  claims  of  the  memorialist  on 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  547 

the  United  States,  in  a  manner  equally  satisfactory  to  him  and 
honorable  to  them."* 

It  was  on  the  strength  of  this  able  report  of  Alexander 
Hamilton  that  the  House,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1790,  appoint- 
ed a  committee  to  report  a  bill  of  resolutions  in  conformity 
with  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  consisted 
of  Messrs.  Gerry,  Wadsworth,  Vining,  Lawrence,  and  Smith 
of  South  Carolina,  and  as  early  as  the  30th  of  April  presented 
a  bill  for  finally  adjusting  Steuben's  claims.  They  proposed 
to  allow  to  him  "  the  pay  and  other  emoluments  of  major  gen- 
eral and  inspector  general,  specified  in  several  acts  of  Con- 
gress relating  to  him,  from  the  10th  of  March,  1778,  to  the 
15th  of  April,  1784;  an  annuity  for  life  of  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  six  dollars,  to  commence  on  the  1st  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1777  ;  and  .  .  .  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  west- 
ern territory  of  the  United  States,  to  be  located  in  such  man- 
ner as  shall  be  hereafter  prescribed  by  law,  provided  that  the 
foreo-oins:  allowances  shall  not  be  construed  to  include  either 
half  pay  or  the  commutation  for  half  pay." 

On  this  motion,  Mr.  Page  made  the  following  remarks, 
which  is  believed  to  be  the  only  speech  reported  on  this  sub- 
ject: 

"  Mr.  Speaker, — I  am  against  the  motion  for  striking  out 
the  $2,706,  and  inserting  $1,500,  because  it  is  incompatible 
with  the  preceding  clauses  of  the  bill,  which  state  the  sum 
($2,706)  as  justly  due  to  the  baron,  according  to  the  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  because  it  is  derogatory  to 
the  honor  and  veracity  of  the  members  of  the  committee  of 
Congress,  on  whose  testimony  the  baron's  claim  is  founded. 

"  Some  gentlemen  lay  great  stress  on  the  want  of  proof 
respecting  what  is  called  the  contract  with  Baron  Steuben ; 
but,  sir,  I  think  we  have  had  all  the  proof  the   nature  of  the 

*  American  State  Papers,  vol.  Claims,  "Washington,  1834-,  fol.,  No.  5,  pp. 
11-16. 


-*         548  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

case  will  admit  of,  and,  for  my  part,  I  should  want  no  other 
than  Mr.  Lee's  letter  to  the  baron. 

"Sir,  this  illustrious  veteran  offered  his  services  on  such 
generous  terms,  and  served  us  so  essentially,  that  I  shall  blush 
for  Congress  should  the  ideas  of  some  gentlemen  now  prevail. 
It  is  umvorthy  of  Congress,  after  having  so  long  enjoyed  the 
benefit  of  those  services,  now  to  be  thus  scrutinizing  the  terms 
on  which  he  offered  them,  and  speaking  of  them  as  of  little 
importance.  I  weigh  them  not  with  the  dollars  proposed — 
they  are  far  beyond  any  sum  which  wre  can  give. 

u  And  if  the  wrorthy  member  from  North  Carolina  (Mr 
Bloodworth),  who  moved  the  motion,  wishes  to  abandon  the 
principles  of  the  bill,  and  instead  of  paying  to  the  baron  the 
debt  there  stated  as  due  to  him,  means  to  give  him  a  sum 
by  way  of  compensation  for  his  services  and  his  economy,  I 
would  advise  him  to  withdraw  his  motion  ;  for,  if  we  depart 
from  the  principles  of  the  bill,  they  who  value  this  great  man's 
services  as  I  do,  will  vote  to  give  him  much  more  than  the  bill 
proposes.  If  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  propose  a  compensation 
for  the  sacrifices  he  made  by  coming  to  America  and  serving  in 
her  war,  and  to  recompense  him  for  his  great  services,  I  am  sure 
I  shall  propose  a  much  larger  sum  than  has  yet  been  talked  of. 

"  Sir,  had  the  baron  stipulated  to  receive  but  two  per  cent, 
on  the  articles  under  his  direction,  or,  I  may  say,  on  what  he 
saved,  he  would  be  entitled  to  much  more  than  is  now  pro- 
posed to  be  given  him.  The  economy  he  introduced  into 
the  army  was  the  occasion  of  an  immense  saving.  Who  can 
say  now  what  was  saved  in  arms,  accouterments,  and  ammu- 
nition, and  by  the  reduction  of  baggage  and  forage  ?  I  have 
been  told  that  officers,  who  had  loaded  a  wagon  with  their 
baggage,  were  soon  reduced  to  a  single  pack-horse. 

"  Some  gentlemen  have  made  light  of  the  discipline  which 
has  been  attributed  to  the  baron,  and  told  us  of  the  affairs  of 
Bunker's  Hill,.  Trenton,  Princeton,  and  Germantown.  It  was 
true,  those  were  brilliant  actions ;  but  the  member  from  South 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  549 

Carolina  (Mr.  Smith)  and  the  member  from  Delaware  had  re- 
plied fully  to  this  observation.  They  well  observed,  that  bril- 
liant as  those  actions  were,  valor  without  discipline  is  often 
vain,  and  may  lead  only  to  destruction ;  that  the  commander- 
in-chief  did  wonders  without  the  baron,  and  (they  might  have 
added)  he  was  wonderful  in  resources,  and  'in  himself  a  host.' 
But  we  should  not  now  consider  what  the  commander-in-chief 
did  before  he  had  the  baron's  assistance,  but  what  he  did  with 
his  assistance,  and  what  use  he  made  of  his  services,  and  to 
this,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  baron,  he  has  repeatedly  and  gen- 
erously borne  ample  testimony. 

"  Sir,  the  baron,  as  adjutant  general  and  director  general, 
was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  the  American  army. 
Having  served  twenty-two  years  in  the  Prussian  army,  which 
Americans  had  been  taught  to  believe  was  the  best  disciplined 
in  the  world,  his  discipline  wras  more  readily  embraced,  and 
more  confidence  reposed  in  it  than  would  have  been  the  case 
had  almost  any  man,  of  any  other  nation,  undertaken  that 
great  task.  The  praise  now  given  to  the  baron  is  no  dispar- 
agement, therefore,  to  other  officers.  The  commander-in-chief 
stood  in  need  of  an  adjutant  like  him,  from  the  peculiar  situa- 
tion of  our  army,  and  has  acknowledged  his  services ;  there- 
fore it  does  not  become  us  to  speak  of  them  as  unimportant. 

"  Sir,  the  importance  of  those  services  would  have  been 
displayed  to  your  view  by  many  officers  now  in  this  House, 
had  they  not,  from  that  delicacy  peculiar  to  American  officers, 
who,  having  laid  by  the  name  and  dress  of  soldiers,  and  mixed 
with  their  fellow-citizens  in  civil  life,  refrained  from  appearing 
to  be  more  knowing  in  military  matters  than  the  other  mem- 
bers of  this  House.  I  say,  were  it  not  for  this  delicacy,  we 
should  have  had  a  full  display  of  the  baron's  services.  One 
officer,  indeed  (Colonel  Bland),  from  the  honest  warmth  of 
his  heart,  has  not  refrained  from  saying  a  few  words  in  sup- 
port of  the  baron's  claim.  But,  sir,  I  have  asked  officers,  and 
some  of  them  now  in  this  House,  whether  I  had  misunderstood 


550  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

or  overrated  the  baron's  claim,  and  I  have  been  constantly 
told  that  I  did  not.  Though  I  had  not  the  honor  of  being  in 
the  army,  I  was  well  informed  by  my  correspondents  there  of 
many  important  circumstances ;  and  on  inquiring  what  were 
the  effects  produced  by  the  new  adjutant  and  director  general 
(the  Baron  Steuben),  I  was  told  that  they  were  visible  in  many 
economical  arrangements,  in  dispositions  of  corps,  in  maneu- 
vering, in  marches,  in  encampments,  and  particularly  in  more 
silent  and  rapid  movements  and  preparations  for  action.  I 
was  told  that  when  the  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  with  a  detach- 
ment under  his  command,  was  in  danger  of  being  cut  off  on 
his  return  to  the  army,  and  the  commander-in-chief  was  deter- 
mined to  support  that  invaluable  officer,  the  whole  army  was 
under  arms  and  ready  to  march  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes 
from  the  time  the  signal  was  given. 

"  Sir,  the  effect  of  this  discipline  was  seen  in  the  marches 
of  our  army ;  they  passed  rivers  in  less  time  than  the  best 
troops  in  Europe  could.  Those  excellent  French  troops  which 
served  with  them  in  the  campaign  of  1781,  were  inferior  to 
them  in  this  respect.  The  superiority  of  our  troops,  as  to 
rapidity  of  movement,  was  seen  in  the  attack  on  the  two  re- 
doubts of  Yorktown,  in  Virginia. 

"  Sir,  I  will  affirm,  that  if  the  clause  be  stricken  out,  a 
larger  sum  ought  to  be  inserted.  We  have  been  asked,  what 
will  our  officers  say  to  this  vote  in  favor  of  the  baron  ?  I  will 
venture  to  say,  sir,  they  will  be  pleased  with  it.  They  ac- 
knowledge the  obligations  they  were  under  to  that  great  man  ; 
they  view  his  circumstances  in  the  same  light  as  that  gallant 
officer  does,  who  is  now  the  Secretary,  and  who  drew  the  re- 
port on  which  the  bill  before  you  is  founded,  and  which  does 
honor  to  his  heart. 

"  Sir,  if  any  report  deserves  to  be  received  without  scru- 
tiny, it  is  the  one  on  which  your  bill  is  founded.  I  hope,  there- 
fore, we  shall  not  depart  from  that  report,  in  so  material  a 
point  as  is  proposed  by  the  motion  now  before  yon." 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  551 

After  sundry  considerations  the  House,  in  their  session  of 
the  10th  of  May,  1790,  finally  struck  out  the  land  donation 
and  preserved  only  a  yearly  annuity  of  $2,000.  The  Senate, 
in  their  session  of  the  27th,  passed  the  bill  of  the  House  with 
an  amendment,  adding  $500  after  the  words  $2,000,  so  that 
the  "Act  for  finally  adjusting  and  satisfying  the  claims  of 
Frederick  William  De  Steuben"  reads  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled. 
That  in  order  to  make  full  and  adequate  compensation  to 
Frederick  William  De  Steuben,  for  the  sacrifices  and  eminent 
services  made  and  rendered  to  the  United  States  during  the 
late  war,  there  be  paid  to  the  said  Frederick  William  De  Steu- 
ben an  annuity  of  $2,500  during  life,  to  commence  on  the  1st 
day  of  January  last,  to  be  paid  in  quarterly  payments  at  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  ;  which  said  annuity  shall  be 
considered  in  full  discharge  of  all  claims  and  demands  what- 
ever, of  the  said  Frederick  William  De  Steuben,  against  the 
United  States. 

"Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenberg, 

"  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
"John  Adams, 
'Vice  President  of  the  United  States  and  President  of  the  Senate. 
"Approved,  June  4th,  1790. 

"  George  Washington, 

"  President  of  the  United  States.'' 

These  are  the  proceedings  which,  being  misrepresented  in 
favor  of  the  United  States,  are  the  cause  that  Steuben  has 
often  been  regarded  with  a  certain  prejudice.  It  has  been 
said  that  he  had  no  claims  either  to  the  gratitude  or  the 
esteem  of  the  American  people,  because  he  had  devoted  him- 
self to  their  cause  merely  out  of  personal  interest.  His  hon- 
orable poverty  was  considered  as  a  crime ;  ho  was  called 
a  vagabond,  and,  to  prove   his  egotism,  compared  with  the 


');)-  LTFE      OF      STEUREN. 

wealthy  Marquis  De  Lafayette.  The  resolves  of  Congress, 
who  finally,  at  least,  came  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  prove  the 
injustice  of  such  an  unfounded  accusation,  though  very  posi- 
tively stated.  Was  it  the  fault  of  Steuben  that  Congress 
neglected,  for  almost  eight  years,  to  comply  with  what  they 
had  formally  promised ;  that  they  bartered  for  a  penny  and 
refused  to  acknowledge  their  own  agents;  and  that  they 
finally  yielded  to  the  repeated  representations  of  men  like 
Washington  and  Hamilton?  We  would  come  nearer  to  the 
truth  if  the  accusation  were  applied  to  Congress;  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  without  the  noble  and  energetic  inter- 
cession of  Hamilton,  Steuben  would  perhaps  have  died  in  the 
poor  house.  The  representatives  of  the  United  States,  far 
from  being  grateful  towards  Steuben,  only  reluctantly  fulfilled 
an  agreement  from  which  their  country  derived  all  the  profit. 
In  this  private  matter  we  can  observe  the  same  difference 
of  feeling  and  party  division  as  in  the  great  political  questions 
of  the  day.  Almost  the  same  men  who  objected  to  the  politi- 
cal and  economical  reasons  which  Hamilton  urged  in  so  able 
and  statesmanlike  a  manner  for  the  funding  of  the  public 
debt,  were  against  the  acknowledgment  of  Steuben's  claims ; 
they  considered  it  as  an  extravagance  to  be  just  and  to  pay 
what  they  owed.  Fortunately  these  times  have  passed  away. 
The  mere  word  of  repudiation  is  discredited  in  the  wmole  civ- 
ilized world,  and  the  United  States,  by  their  late  rich  do- 
nations to  the  descendants  of  the  revolutionary  officers  and 
soldiers,  have  more  than  satisfactorily  demonstrated  that  they 
disapprove  of  the  former  policy  of  Congress  towards  the  men 
who  were  the  chief  instruments  in  achieving  the  independence 
of  their  country. 


CHAPTER     XXVI. 

The  Order  of  the  Cincinnati. — Its  Origin. — General  Knox  the  alleged  Author 
op  the  Idea. — Reasons  against  this  Supposition. — Share  ok  the  Foreign 
Officers  in  establishing  the  Orde;:. — Proceedings  at  the  first  Meeting  on 
the  18th  of  May,  1783.— Principles  of  the  Order  and  Description  of  its 
Decorations. — Attacks  against  the  Cincinnati. — Pamphlets  ok  Judge  Aedanus 
Burke  and  Count  Mirabeau. — Steuben  personally  assailed. — Criticism  upon 
thes  Pamphlets. — Greene's  Letter. — Steuben's  Relations  to  the  Order. — 
He  characterizes  it  in  a  Letter  to  Count  Luzerne. — Interesting  Letter  of 
De  L'Enfant  to  Washington  and  Steuben. — Favorable  Reception  ok  the 
Order  in  France. — Knox  withdraws  and  puts  all  Blame  on  Steubfn. — New 
England  declares  itself  against  the  Order. — North's  Letter  about  Knox. 
— Fairlik's  Letter. — Washington  tries  to  rehabilitate  the  Cincinnati  in  the 
Public  Opinion  by  sacrificing  the  hereditary  Principle.— His  Amendments 
adopted,  but  not  carried  out. — Steuben  Vice  President  from  17S6  to  1790. — 
Ceremonies  at  the  Initiation  of  Honorary  Members.— Steuben,  as  President 
ok  the  Cincinnati,  addresses  Washington — His  Speech  in  1790. — Sketch  of 
the  History  ok  the  Cincinnati  up  to  the  present  Time. 

WE  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  how  unfairly 
Congress  dealt  with  the  just  claims  of  the  officers  before 
the  disbandment  of  the  army;  how  these  same  officers,  who 
for  eight  long  years  had  well  served  their  country,  were  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  threats  of  violence  in  order  to  get  payment 
of  the  sums  due  to  them ;  how  the  people,  afraid  of  meeting 
their  engagements  and  paying  money,  took  part  against  the 
officers,  and  how,  isolated  and  abandoned,  these  poor  men 
stood  at  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

The  long-existing  ties  which,  in  consequence  of  the  com- 
mon hardships  and  the  dangers  of  a  long  and  protracted  war, 
had  united  these  old  companions  in  arms,  were  now  more 
closely  cemented  by  the  treatment  which  the  officers  expe- 
rienced from  their  ungrateful  country.  They  had  a  very  sad 
and  desperate  future  before  them,  when,  helpless  and  totally 
devoid  of  means,  they  retired  to  civil  life.  It  is  to  this 
wretched   prospect,  as  well  as  to  the  feelings  of  mutual  de- 

24 


554  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

pcndcncc  engendered  by  long  association,  and  of  regret  at 
approaching  separation,  and  perhaps  somewhat  to  the  sus- 
picions natural  to  men  whose  patience  had  been  so  severely 
tried,  that  we  may  attribute  the  suggestion  of  an  association 
among  the  officers  to  continue  after  their  disbandment,  and 
preserve  a  unity  of  feeling  and  interest,  with  the  memory  of 
their  mutual  labors  and  sufferings. 

It  is  said  that  the  idea  had  been  suggested  by  General 
Knox,  but  there  is  no  positive  proof  that  it  was  so.  On  the 
contrary,  it  appears  improbable  to  us,  as  Knox,  if  he  had  first 
proposed  the  idea  to  the  army,  would  have  stronger  upheld  it 
when  it  was  assailed  by  the  different  States  and  the  people. 
We  think,  however,  we  are  not  far  from  the  truth  in  suppos- 
ing that,  corresponding  with  the  establishment  of  similar  insti- 
tutions, the  plan,  although  at  first  very  indistinct,  originated 
simultaneously  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  officers,  and  that, 
in  discussing  it,  by  degrees  it  gained  its  definite  shape  and 
characteristic  form.  In  this  way  the  majority  of  all  the  officers 
represented  will  have  probably  contributed  to  the  constitution 
of  the  society.  But  we  do  not  think  we  mistake  the  spirit 
which  prompted  some  of  the  foreign  officers,  in  attributing 
to  them  the  authorship  of  all  those  articles  in  the  constitution 
which  refer  to  the  exterior  apparel,  to  the  medal  and  ribbon. 
We  know  that  Major  De  L'Enfant,  a  French  officer,  prepared 
the  design  of  the  order,  and  that  the  society  adopted  his  ideas 
respecting  it,  and  the  manner  of  its  being  worn  by  the  mem- 
bers, while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  existed  no  order  in  this 
country  during  the  colonial  times,  so  that  the  idea  of  estab- 
lishing one  could  not  have  originated  in  an  American  mind ; 
moreover,  the  foreign  officers  considered  an  order  of  great 
value,  and  as  a  conspicuous  proof  of  their  participation  in  such 
a  glorious  war.  Steuben,  the  old  court  marshal,  has,  proba- 
bly, more  than  anybody  else,  eminently  figured  in  its  establish- 
ment, as  the  constant  wearing  of  his  order  "  Do  La  Fidelite," 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  555 

proves  that  he  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  such  dis- 
tinction.* 

But  be  this  as  it  may,  considering  the  prominent  share 
that  Steuben  took  in  the  foundation  of  the  society,  we  ex- 
pect to  be  justified  in  giving  here  the  following  brief  sketch 
of  its  history,  which  we  have  borrowed  from  the  original 
records  of  that  time:f 

"  At  the  cantonment  of  the  American  army  on  Hudson's 
river,  on  the  10th  of  May,  1783,  proposals  for  establishing  a 
society  upon  principles  therein  mentioned,  whose  members  shall 
be  the  officers  of  the  American  army,  having  been  communi- 
cated to  the  several  regiments  of  the  respective  lines,  they  ap- 
pointed an  officer  from  each,  who,  in  conjunction  with  the 
general  officers,  should  take  the  same  into  consideration  at 
their  meeting  this  day,  at  which  the  Honorable  Major  General 
Baron  De  Steuben,  the  senior  officer  present,  was  pleased  to 
preside.     At  this  meeting  the  subject  was  referred  to  a  com- 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  we  have  found  an  interesting  essay  in  the 
"Publications  of  tho  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,"  Philadelphia,  1858, 
vol.  vi.,  p.  15,  ff ,  written  by  Alexander  Johnston,  in  which,  corroborating 
our  opinion,  he  says,  pp.  Gl  to  63 : 

"In  an  article  in  the  North  American  Review  for  October,  1853,  Sargent 
expressed  the  belief  that  the  idea  of  the  society  was  first  suggested  by  Knox, 
and  that  the  Baron  De  Steuben  probably  had  at  least  been  consulted  in  tho 
inception  of  the  scheme.  He  has  since  been  favored  with  the  perusal  of  the 
original  rough  draft  of  the  society  in  the  hand-writing  of  Knox,  dated  at 

West  Point,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1783 But  it  seems  more  than 

probable  that  the  first  defined  suggestion  of  the  assumption  of  a  distinct  order 
came  from  Steuben,  or  some  other  foreigner." 

We  shall  hereafter,  especially  at  the  end  of  this  chapter,  quote  from  this 
valuable  article. 

f  "  The  Institution  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  Formed  by  the  Offi- 
cers of  the  American  Army  of  tho  Revolution,  for  the  laudable  purposes 
therein  mentioned,  at  the  Cantonment  on  the  Banks  of  the  Hudson  River, 
May,  1783;  Together  with  some  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  General  Society 
and  of  the  New  York  State  Society ;  also,  A  List  of  the  Officers  and  Mem- 
bers of  the  New  York  State  Society,  from  its  organization  to  the  year  1851. 
Printed  by  order  and  for  the  use  of  tho  members  of  the  New  "York  Society. 
J.  M.  Elliott,  Printer,  133  Water  street,  New  York,  1851." 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Honorable  Hamilton  Fish  for  this  valuable 
pamplilet. 


550  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

mittee,  consisting  of  Major  General  Knox,  Brigadier  General 
Hand,  and  Captain  Shaw,  whose  report,  presented  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  13th  of  May,  1783,  at  General  Steuben's  head-quar- 
ters (Vcrplanck's  house),  was  unanimously  accepted,  and  com- 
mences as  follows : 

"  It  having  pleased  the  Supreme  Governor  of  the  universe, 
in  the  disposition  of  human  affairs,  to  cause  the  separation  of 
the  colonies  of  North  America  from  the  dominion  of  Great 
Britain,  and,  after  a  bloody  conflict  of  eight  years,  to  estab- 
lish them  free,  independent,  and  sovereign  States,  cemented 
by  alliances,  founded  on  reciprocal  advantages,  with  some  of 
the  greatest  princes  and  powers  of  the  earth  : 

"To  perpetuate,  therefore,  as  well  the  remembrance  of  this 
vast  event,  as  the  mutual  friendships  which  have  been  formed 
under  the  pressure  of  common  danger,  and  in  many  instances 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  the  parties,  the  officers  of  the  Amer- 
ican army  do  hereby,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  associate, 
constitute,  and  combine  themselves  into  one  society  of  friends, 
to  endure  as  long  as  they  shall  endure,  or  any  of  their  eldest 
male  posterity,  and  in  failure  thereof,  the  collateral  branches, 
who  may  be  judged  worthy  of  becoming  its  supporters  and 
members. 

"The  officers  of  the  American  army  having  generally  been 
taken  from  the  citizens  of  America,  possess  high  veneration  for 
the  character  of  that  illustrious  Roman,  Lucius  Quintius  Cin- 
cinnatus,  and  being  resolved  to  follow  his  example  by  return- 
ing to  their  citizenship,  they  think  they  may,  with  propriety, 
denominate  themselves  'The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.' 

"  The  following  principles  shall  be  immutable,  and  form  the 
basis  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  : 

"An  incessant  attention  to  preserve  inviolate  those  exalted 
rights  and  liberties  of  human  nature  for  which  they  have  fought 
and  bled,  and  without  which  the  high  rank  of  a  rational  being 
is  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing. 

"  An  unalterable  determination  to  promote  and  cherish,  be- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  557 

tween  the  respective  States,  that  union  and  national  honor  so 
essentially  necessary  to  their  happiness  and  the  future  dignity 
of  the  American  empire. 

"To  render  permanent  the  cordial  affection  subsisting  among 
the  officers ;  this  spirit  will  dictate  brotherly  kindness  in  all 
things,  and  particularly  extend  to  the  most  substantial  acts  of 
beneficence,  according  to  the  ability  of  the  society,  towards 
those  officers  and  their  families  who,  unfortunately,  may  be 
under  the  necessity  of  receiving  it." 

A  series  of  rules  are  then  given  for  the  government  of  the 
order,  whose  officers  are  to  consist  of  a  president,  vice  presi- 
dent, secretary,  treasurer,  and  assistant  treasurer,  to  be  chosen 
at  each  of  its  meetings,  which  are  to  be  held  triennially.  It  is 
divided  into  State  societies,  to  be  governed  in  a  like  manner, 
and  possessing  power  for  their  own  regulation.  Tho  triennial 
meeting  of  the  society  is  to  consist  of  its  officers  and  of  a  dele- 
gation of  not  more  than  five  from  each  State. 

All  the  officers  of  the  American  army,  as  well  those  who 
have  resigned  with  honor  after  three  years'  service  in  the  capac- 
ity of  officers,  or  who  have  been  deranged  by  the  resolutions  of 
Congress,  upon  the  several  reforms  of  the  army,  as  those  who 
shall  have  continued  to  the  end  of  the  war,  have  the  right  to 
become  parties  to  this  institution,  provided  they  sign  the 
general  rules  within  six  months,  and  subscribe  one  month's 
pay  to  form  a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  shall  be  devoted  to 
the  relief  of  the  unfortunate.  As  a  testimony  of  affection  to 
the  memory  of  such  officers  as  have  died  in  the  service,  the 
same  right  is  extended  to  their  eldest  male  representatives, 
and  to  such  French  officers  of  the  rank  of  colonel  as  have 
served  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Honorary  members,  also, 
are  eligible,  for  their  own  lives  only,  in  the  proportion  of  one 
to  four. 

A  decoration  is  prescribed,  which,  as  adopted,  consists  of  a 
bald  eagle  of  gold,  displayed,  suspended  by  a  deep  blue  rib- 
band, edged  with  white,  descriptive  of  the  union  of  France 


558  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

and  America ;  the  eagle  grasping  in  its  talons  golden  olive 
branches,  the  leaves  in  green  enamel,  which  are  continued 
round  the  figure  so  as  to  form  a  wreath  above  its  head,  to 
which  the  clasp  is  attached.  On  the  breast  of  the  eagle  Cin- 
cinnatus  is  represented  as  receiving  a  sword  from  three  Roman 
senators,  with  various  appropriate  figures  in  the  background  ; 
around  the  whole  is  the  legend,  "  Omnia  reliquit  servare 
rempuhlicam."  On  the  reverse  is  seen  Fame  crowning  Cin- 
cinnatus  with  a  wreath,  and  the  motto,  u  Esto  perpetua." 

Thus  was  formed  the  Cincinnati,  with  General  Washing- 
ton  as  president,  General  Knox  as  secretary,  and  General 
McDougal  as  treasurer.  Noble  in  its  aims,  illustrious  in  its 
origin,  and  charitable  in  its  operations,  but  necessarily  exclus- 
ive, it  excited  the  hostility  of  those  who  envied  the  fame  of  its 
members,  of  those  who  expected  impossible  social  equality  to 
result  from  the  Revolution,  and  of  parties  whose  absence  from 
the  country  prevented  their  understanding  its  character.  As 
usual  in  such  cases,  the  assailants  were  more  active  than  the 
defenders,  and  succeeded  in  producing  a  strong  feeling  against 
the  society,  both  in  America  and  Europe. 

The  most  important  public  attack  against  the  Cincinnati, 
published  in  the  United  States,  was  made  by  Judge  Aedanus 
Burke,  in  South  Carolina.  Even  the  title*  of  his  remarks 
shows  that,  as  a  revolutionary  pamphlet,  they  are  too  insipid, 
too  tedious,  while,  considered  as  an  exposition  and  refutation, 
they  are  too  superficial,  and  not  at  all  exhausting.  On  this 
attack  is  based  the  well-known  pamphlet  of  Mirabeau,f  which, 

*  "Considerations  on  the  Society  or  Order  of  Cincinnati,  lately  instituted 
by  the  Major  Generals,  Brigadier  Generals,  and  other  Officers  of  the  American 
Army,  Proving  that  it  creates  a  race  of  hereditary  Patricians  or  Nobility, 
Interspersed  with  Remarks  on  its  consequences  to  the  freedom  and  happiness 
of  the  Republic.  Addressed  to  the  People  of  South  Carolina  and  their 
Representatives.  By  Cassius.  (Supposed  to  be  written  by  Aedanus  Burke, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  chief  justices  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina.)  '  Blow  ye  the 
trumpet  in  Zion.'—  The  Bible.  Philadelphia,  Printed  and  Sold  by  Robert  Bell, 
in  Third  street.     Price  one  sixth  of  a  dollar.     MDCCLXXXIII." 

f  "  Considerations  on  the   Order  of  Cincinnati^.     Translated   from  the 


F  E     OF      S  T  F  U  B  E  N"  , 


559 


probably,  more  on  account  of  its  author  than  of  its  contents, 
enjoyed  a  large  circulation  and  great  reputation. 

Mirabeau  almost  literally  translates  Burke's  statements, 
and  enlarges  them  here  and  there  with  some  ideas  of  his  own. 
They  both  agree  in  making  Steuben  "  Grand  Master"  of  the 
order,  under  the  more  humble  title  of  president ;  nay,  Burke 
goes  as  far  as  to  throw  all  the  odium  of  his  objections,  instead 
of  on  Washington  and  the  other  officers  and  members  of  the 
society,  exclusively  on  Steuben,  as  a  foreigner. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  inform  Baron  Steuben,"  says  he, 
"  that  though  an  order  of  peerage  may  do  well  under  the 
petty  princes  of  Germany,  yet,  in  America,  it  is  incompatible 
with  our  freedom."  Burke,  as  well  as  Mirabeau,  arraigns  the 
society  for  intending  to  establish  a  hereditary  nobility. 

"The  institution  of  the  order  of  Cincinnati,"  they  say,  "is 
the  creation  of  an  actual  patriciate  and  of  a  military  nobility, 
which  will,  ere  long,  become  a  civil  nobility,  and  an  aristoc- 
racy the  more  dangerous,  because,  being  hereditary,  it  will 
perpetually  increase  in  the  course  of  time,  and  will  gather 
strength  from  the  very  prejudices  which  it  will  engender,  be- 
cause, originating  neither  in  the  Constitution  nor  the  law,  the 
law  has  provided  no  means  to  control  it,  and  it  will  incessant- 
ly overbear  the  Constitution,  of  which  it  forms  no  part,  till  the 
time  shall  come  when,  by  repeated  attempts  made,  sometimes 
clandestinely  and  sometimes  openly,  it  will  at  length  have  in- 
corporated itself  into  the  Constitution  ;  or  when,  after  having 
for  a  long  time  sapped  its  foundations,  it  will  in  the  end  over- 
turn and  utterly  destroy  it." 

It  is  true  that  the  new  institution  was  in  obvious  contra- 
diction to  the  character  of  the  time  and  this  republic,  which  is 
based  on  the  democratic  principles;  and  it  also  can  not  be 
denied  that  the  apprehension  manifested  by  individuals  and 
States,  contained  a  great  deal  of  common  sense  and  truth,  but 

French  of  the  Count  Do  Mirabeau.    London,  printed  for  J.  Johnson,  St. 
Paul's  Church  Yard.     MDCCLXXXV." 


«^00  h  I  F  E     Q  F     S  T  E  IT  B  E  X  . 

it  is  thoroughly  erroneous  that  the  new  institution  could  ever 
have  been  able  to  create  a  hereditary  nobility. 

If  we  venture  to  criticise  these  denunciations  in  a  few 
words,  it  is  but  just,  before  all,  not  to  forget  that  they  were 
uttered  previous  to  the  great  French  Revolution ;  at  a  time, 
therefore,  where  there  existed  only  one  form  of  nobility,  and 
no  idea  of  the  possibility  of  its  existence  in  any  other  form ; 
where  this  ruling  aristocracy,  although  degenerated  and  looked 
upon  with  contempt  on  the  part  of  the  intelligent,  middle 
classes,  nevertheless  was  the  representative  of  the  force  and 
intelligence  of  the  people  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

In  the  first  instance,  the  parallel  is  false  which  Mirabeau 
and  Burke  have  drawn  between  the  condition  of  things  in  Eu- 
rope and  that  in  America,  and  by  which  both  presumed  to 
prove  from  the  origin  of  the  patrician  institution  and  the  feu- 
dal prerogatives  in  the  old  country,  that  by  the  order  of  the 
Cincinnati  an  analogous  class  of  privileged  nobles  could  en- 
danger the  social  equality  of  American  citizens. 

Hereditary  nobility  was  unknown  to  the  European  conti- 
nent before  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Carolingian  dynasty, 
and  in  England  before  the  Xorman  conquest;  it  originated 
with  the  entailment  of  the  family  estates.  Thus  the  heredi- 
tary estates  are  the  true  basis  of  nobility ;  they  alone  endow 
it  with  vitality  and  influence.  The  so-called  court  nobility, 
and  nobility  granted  by  royal  diploma,  both  of  a  later  date, 
are  only  exuberances  of  the  true  or  feudal  nobility  ;  and  it  is 
self-evident  that  they  can  only  flourish  where  there  is  a  court 
or  sovereign  power  which  can  create  and  support  them.  In  the 
United  States,  however,  where  there  are  neither  entailed  es- 
tates nor  courts,  all  the  citizens  have  the  same  constitutional 
rights,  and  there  is  a  total  absence  of  every  fundamental  con- 
dition upon  which  such  a  state  of  things  could  be  founded. 
The  origin  of  fiefs  or  entailed  estates  were  wars  and  conquests 
against  other  warlike  people,  and  in  consequence  thereof  the 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  561 

necessity  to  have  at  any  time  a  well  armed  force  ready  to  re- 
sist the  attacks  of  a  dangerous  or  unsubdued  enemy. 

Innocent  times  these,  when  it  was  naively  presumed  that 
it  depended  only  on  the  honest  or  dishonest  character  of  some 
individuals,  to  found  an  aristocracy  after  the  European  pat- 
tern ! 

An  established  nobility  can  be  as  little  extinguished  by  the 
mere  abolition  of  titles,  as  a  new  nobility  can  be  created  by 
the  mere  grant  of  such  distinctive  appellations.  A  real  nobil- 
ity must  be  absolutely  founded  upon  a  basis  of  real  and  per 
manent  power  and  influence,  which  are  mostly  derived  from 
the  possession  of  landed  estate,  as  for  instance  in  England. 
Titles  and  honorary  offices,  without  this  basis  are  nothing  more 
than  empty  distinctions ;  they  may  be  the  outward  signs,  but 
they  can  never  form  the  essential  strength  of  a  nobility.  Do 
the  half  million  of  generals,  commodores,  colonels  or  captains, 
who  are  to  be  found  in  every  corner  of  the  United  States, 
give  any  idea  of  the  military  or  naval  strength  of  the  country, 
or  are  they  perhaps  to  be  feared  as  titled  aristocrats  ? 

There  is  another  error  to  be  refuted :  that  nobility  must 
necessarily  be  hereditary  and  repose  upon  the  law  of  primo- 
geniture, in  order  to  become  influential.  It  is  true,  that  by 
that  means  at  certain  times  it  has  extended  and  defended  its 
power ;  but  also  without  such  accidental  prerogatives  it  can 
be  a  great  power.  The  South  of  the  United  States,  whence 
the  resistance  against  the  Cincinnati  mainly  came,  has  seen 
springing  up  among  them,  in  the  course  of  scarcely  two  gen- 
erations, and  without  any  exterior  distinction  or  hereditary 
privileges,  the  cotton  planters,  who,  despite  of  their  recent 
origin,  vie  with  the  oldest  and  proudest  aristocracy  of  birth 
in  Europe  in  exclusiveness,  egotism  and  pride  of  race.  New 
England,  which  raised  the  loudest  protests  against  the  Cincin- 
nati, possesses  the  aristocracy  of  her  manufacturing  and  mer- 
chant princes,  who  acknowledge  no  earthly  thing  besides  their 
interest  and  success  in  life. 

24* 


5G2  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

If  the  officers  who  founded  the  Cincinnati  order  had  re 
mained  in  active  service,  if  the  United  States  army,  instead 
of  being  almost  altogether  disbanded,  had  been  increased, 
there  would  have  been  some  possibility  of  the  order  becoming 
dangerous,  because  in  that  case  a  central  point  for  their  pur- 
poses would  have  been  in  existence ;  but  poor  and  penniless 
as  they  were  for  the  most  part,  dispersed  through  the  whole 
country,  and  without  any  other  influence  than  such  as  their 
personal  worthiness  and  merits  could  exercise ;  these  officers 
had  no  basis,  no  connection  for  any  action  or  united  exertion, 
even  if  they  had  had  the  most  aristocratic  designs. 

This  outcry  against  the  dangerous  character  of  such  an 
association,  divested  of  cant  and  verbiage,  was  nothing  more 
than  the  bad  conscience  of  that  selfish  fraction  of  the  people 
which  had  treated  its  defenders  so  basely  and  ungratefully, 
and  was  now  afraid  of  their  revenging  the  deceptions  which 
had  been  practiced  upon  them. 

"  The  uproar  that  is  raised  against  the  Cincinnati,"  writes 
Nathaniel  Greene  on  the  22d  of  April,  1784,  to  Washington,* 
"  makes  rne  more  anxious  to  be  at  the  meeting  than  I  ever  ex- 
pected to  feel.  It  was  uninteresting  to  me  before.  Assuming 
honors  hurts  my  delicacy,  but  persecution  banishes  the  influ- 
ence. The  subject  is  important,  and  it  may  be  equally  danger- 
ous to  recede  or  push  forward  ;  but  I  am  decided  in  my  opin- 
ion not  to  abolish  the  order  from  the  prevailing  clamors  against 
it.  If  this  is  done  away,  the  whole  tide  of  abuse  will  run 
against  the  commutation.  The  public  in  New  England  seem 
to  want  something  to  quarrel  with  the  officers  about.  Remove 
one  thing  and  they  will  soon  find  another.  It  is  in  the  temper 
of  the  people,  not  in  the  matters  complained  of.  ...  I  am  con- 
fident the  tranquillity  of  the  public  can  only  be  preserved  by 
the  continuance  of  the  order." 

Washington,  however,  was  of  a  contrary  opinion.     By  rec- 
ommending the  Cincinnati  to  abandon  the  hereditary  princi- 
*  Washington's  Writings,  i.v.,  49G. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 


i63 


pie  in  their  constitution,  he  silenced  the  menacing  storm,  and 
saved  perhaps  the  United  States  from  a  dangerous  crisis. 

The  Steuben  papers  contain  a  great  many  documents  and 
letters  which  are  connected  with  or  refer  to  the  Cincinnati. 
Almost  all  the  invitations  to  join  the  order  were  written  by 
Steuben,  as  for  instance  those  addressed  to  the  Chevalier 
De  La  Luzerne,  Generals  Greene,  Gates,  Sullivan,  Weedon, 
Wayne,  and  others.  We,  however,  quote  only  those  letters 
which  claim  a  more  general  importance  as  throwing  light  upon 
the  character  and  history  of  the  society. 

Major  Generals  Heath,  Steuben  and  Knox  had  been  ap- 
pointed, on  the  13th  of  May,  1783,  by  the  meeting  of  the 
officers,  to  present  the  commander-in-chief  with  a  copy  of  the 
institution  of  the  society,  and  to  request  him  that  he  should 
honor  them  by  placing  his  name  at  the  head  of  the  file. 

On  the  18th  of  May  Steuben  requested  Heath  to  appoint 
the  time  for  putting  this  resolution  into  execution,  whereupon 
Heath,  on  the  same  day,  answered  that  the  plan  should  be 
presented  to  his  Excellency,  the  commander-in-chief,  on  Tues- 
day next  at  one  o'clock.  Thus  Washington  became  a  member 
and  the  first  president  of  the  society  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1783.* 

Steuben  himself,  in  an  invitation,  on  the  24th  of  May, 
1783,  to  the  Chevalier  De  La  Luzerne,  thus  characterizes  it  :f 
"  The  design  of  this  institution,  which  is  founded  on  the 
principles  of  patriotism  and  gratitude,  is  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  an  epoch  so  glorious  to  America  as  the  present, 
and  the  effectual  assistance  this  country  has  received  from  her 
generous  ally.  The  American  officers  will  consider  themselves 
honored  by  being  permitted  to  erect,  with  their  own,  the 
names  of  those  celebrated  characters  who  have  shown  their 
attachment  to  the  rights  of  the  human  species  in  general,  and 
of  the  American  in  particular." 

At  the  same  time  that  the  society  was  vehemently  assailed 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x  t  Ibidem. 


564  LIFE     OF     S  T  E  U  B  E  N  . 

here,  it  found  a  very  favorable  reception  at  the  French  court. 
Major  De  l'Enfant,  whom  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Roch- 
ambeau,  dated  the  29th  of  October,  1783,  had  charged  to 
execute  the  order  of  the  society  in  France,  informs  Steuben, 
writing  from  Paris  on  the  25th  of  December,  1783,  in  the  fol- 
lowing words,  of  the  results  of  his  mission:* 

"  It  is  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  that  I  acquaint  you  of 
the  success  of  the  Cincinnati  in  France.  The  difficulties  have 
been  removed  which  could  have  been  opposed  to  the  admis- 
sion of  the  order  into  France,  where  they  are  accustomed  to 
tolerate  no  foreign  order.  His  majesty,  desirous  of  giving  to 
the  Americans  a  proof  of  the  friendship  which  he  wishes  to 
maintain  with  them,  in  his  council  has  permitted  his  officers  to 
wear  this  badge  with  the  other  orders  of  his  kingdom.  I 
have  written  to  General  Washington,  and  inclose  a  copy  of 
my  letter  to  him.  I  should  like  to  get  it  translated  and  pub- 
lished in  the  newspapers;  I  think  it  would  produce  a  good 
effect. 

"Here  in  France  they  are  more  ambitious  to  obtain  the 
order  of  the  Cincinnati  than  to  be  decorated  with  the  cross  of 
St.  Louis,  and  daily  I  receive  applications  for  it.  The  eagles 
are  in  good  train;  try  to  push  the  subscriptions  in  Phila- 
delphia. I  have  made  my  arrangements,  but  for  carrying 
them  into  execution  we  require  funds." 

To  these  lines  there  was  added  an  extract  from  a  letter  to 
Washington,  which  may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

"As  it  was  necessary  for  attaining  the  object  of  my  voy- 
age, I  proceeded  to  Paris  with  all  possible  dispatch,  and 
handed  at  once  your  letters  to  Counts  Rochambeau,  D'Estaing, 
De  Grasse,  and  to  the  Marquis  General  De  Lafayette.  At 
the  same  time  I  paid  my  visits  to  all  those  officers  who,  re- 
siding in  Paris,  by  their  service  and  their  place  in  the  French 
army,  could  be  considered  as  Cincinnati.  It  is  with  the 
greatest  satisfaction  that  at  this  moment  I  am  the  primitive 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  565 

organ  of  their  gratitude,  and  it  is  not  less  flattering  to  me  to 
be  able  to  inform  your  Excellency  of  the  success  of  my  mis- 
sion, and  of  the  high  appreciation  which  the  French  nation 
entertains  towards  the  American  army  for  thus  honoring  an 
illustrious  part  of  their  own  army  with  such  flattering  dis- 
tinction. One  single  conversation  with  the  French  oflicers 
wrould  at  once  convince  you  how  thoroughly  they  appreciate, 
at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  those  brotherly  sentiments 
which  make  them  take  so  powerful  an  interest  in  the  happi- 
ness of  America.  This  institution,  which  they  consider  as  a 
monument  erected  to  republican  virtues,  as  the  fundamental 
basis  of  a  cordial  union  between  the  different  States,  as  a  new 
tie  which  assures  the  duration  of  that  reciprocal  friendship 
which  France  has  devoted  to  America,  can  not  be  looked 
upon  in  too  advantageous  a  light. 

"  The  permission  which  this  illustrious  monarch,  the  most 
Christian  king,  has  already  given  to  his  subjects  to  wear  in 
his  dominions  the  order  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  is 
not  only  a  strong  mark  of  his  deference,  but  also  an  unmis- 
takable proof  of  the  sentiments  of  his  majesty  towards  Amer- 
ica." 

But  wrhile  the  French  officers  wrere  ambitious  of  the  honor 
to  be  admitted  as  members  of  the  society;  while,  for  instance, 
the  Chevalier  Du  Bouchet,  at  Auxerre,  who  had  been  present 
at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  and  of  Cornwallis,  in  a  letter  of 
the  17th  of  February,  1784,  considers  it  as  one  of  the  greatest 
distinctions  of  his  life  to  be  received  as  a  member  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati ;  while  the  French  army  intendant,  Tarle,  argues  that 
he  is  entitled  to  the  honors  of  the  order,  at  the  same  time 
here,  in  the  United  States,  the  reaction  against  the  society 
had  reached  its  culminating  point.  Some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent members,  to  give  no  offense,  even  withdrew  from  it ; 
others  laid  aside  its  insignia,  and  others  proposed  its  modifi- 
cation. We  find  in  the  Steuben  papers  a  letter,  very  inter- 
esting in  this  respect,  written  by  General  Knox,  at  Boston,  to 


5GG  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

Steuben,  on  the  21st  of  February,  1784,  which  we  quote  in 
full : 

"  We  had  a  meeting  of  the  society  in  this  town  on  the  10th 
instant,  at  which  General  Lincoln  presided.  A  committee  was 
chosen  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  society  in  May  next,  at 
Philadelphia,  which  appears  the  place  most  proper  for  the  oc- 
casion. II.  Putnam,  Colonel  Hall,  Major  Sargent  and  myself, 
are  of  the  committee  ;  probably  only  two  will  attend.  Your 
society,  Mr.  Baron,  has  occasioned  a  great  deal  of  jealousy 
among  the  good  people  of  New  England,  who  say  it  is  al- 
together an  outlandish  creation  formed  by  foreign  influence. 
It  is  still  heightened  by  a  letter  from  one  of  our  ministers 
abroad,  who  intimates  that  it  was  formed  in  Europe  to  over- 
throw our  happy  institutions.  Burke's  pamphlet  has  also  had 
its  full  operation.  You  see  how  much  you  have  to  answer  for 
by  the  introduction  of  your  European  institutions.  I  contend, 
to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  that  you  only  had  your  share  in 
the  matter,  and  no  more  ;  but  it  will  have  no  effect.  Burke's 
allusion  has  fixed  it,  and  you  must  support  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing created  a  race  of  hereditary  nobility.  Our  friend  Heath 
says :  '  I  forewarned  you  of  all  that  will  happen !'  He  did 
not  attend  the  meeting.  The  Legislature  of  this  State  are, 
however,  decided  that  the  scheme  shall  not  be  carried  into 
execution  in  this  commonwealth,  and  in  order  to  frustrate  the 
measure,  the  Assembly  have  chosen  a  joint  committee  of  both 
Houses  to 'inquire  into  any  associations  or  combinations  to 
introduce  undue  distinction  into  the  community,  which  may 
have  a  tendency  to  create  a  race  of  hereditary  nobility,  con- 
trary to  the  Confederation  of  the  United  States,  and  to  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution  of  this  commonwealth.'  The  com- 
mittee have  not  yet  reported  the  result  of  their  inquiries  ;  when 
they  do,  I  will  inform  you.  You  must  have  observed,  my  dear 
friend,  how  possible  it  is  for  the  best  intentions  to  be  miscon- 
strued and  misrepresented.  Let  me  know  how  it  is  relished 
in  Pennsylvania  and  to  the  southward." 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  507 

"  Knox  and  Jackson,"  writes  William  North,  a  little  later,  to 
Steuben,  "  avoid  the  badge  of  the  Cincinnati  as  they  would 
the  devil.     They  smile  and  smile,  and  still  are  .     .     .     ."* 

In  order  to  preserve  the  society  and  to  allay  the  popular 
prejudice,  Washington  proposed,  at  its  first  meeting  in  1784, 
to  abolish  the  hereditary  features  of  its  constitution.  "  On 
Tuesday,  the  4th  instant,"  writes  James  Fairlie,  who,  with 
William  S.  Smith,  Nicholas  Fish,  and  Philip  Courtland,  ap- 
peared as  delegate  from  New  York,  at  the  beginning  of  May, 
1784,  from  Philadelphia,  to  Benjamin  Walker,f  "the  deputies 
in  town  from  the  different  State  societies  met  at  the  City 
Tavern,  eleven  States  being  represented.  There  are  now 
twelve  States  represented,  Rhode  Island  being  the  only  one 
which  is  not.  The  commander-in-chief,  on  the  first  meeting, 
resigned  his  office  as  president  general,  his  term  having  ex- 
pired agreeably  to  the  constitution.  He  was,  nevertheless, 
elected  president  of  the  meeting,  which  he  will  hold  till  we 
break  up,  which  will  not  be  these  ten  days,  having  much  to 
do.  There  are  a  vast  many  petitions  from  France  to  become 
members,  all  of  which,  I  fancy,  will  be  referred  to  the  coun- 
try from  which  they  come,  as  it  seems  to  be  the  disposition 
of  many  members  that  there  shall  be  a  charter  sent  to  that 
part  of  the  society  in  France,  giving  them  power  similar  to 
those  the  different  State  societies  now  enjoy. 

"  One  of  the  first  pieces  of  business  we  went  on  was  to  ap- 
point a  committee,  consisting  of  a  member  from  each  State,  to 
revise,  correct,  and  amend  the  constitution.  The  general  objec- 
tions seem  to  be  hereditary  succession,  funds,  honorary  mem- 
bers, attention  to  the  general  union  of  the  States,  and  holding 
general  meetings.  I  hope,  in  amending  it,  we  may  not  make 
ourselves  look  ridiculous,  or  totally  destroy  the  society.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  some  that  every  thing  but  the  charitable  part 
and  the  badge,  should  be  abolished. 

"A  rage  for  popularity  will  influence  many  to  reduce  the 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x.  \  Ibidem,  Uftca. 


568  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

society  to  be  little  or  nothing ;  and  that  kind  of  people  tell  us 
frightful  stories  about  the  flame  that  is  likely  to  break  out  in 
the  country  concerning  the  Cincinnati.  Some  that  were  but  a 
little  time  ago  the  greatest  sticklers  for  it,  indeed  with  whom 
the  idea  of  forming  such  a  society  first  originated,  have  expe- 
rienced a  revolution  in  sentiment.  Trimmers,  trimmers,  trim- 
mers ! 

"The  amendments  debated  yesterday,"  continues  Fairlie, 
a  little  later,*  "  passed  the  meeting.  The  alterations  are,  no 
hereditary  succession,  no  more  honorary  members ;  the  funds 
to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  government ;  no  treasurer  gen- 
eral. In  fact,  whatever  General  Washington  dictated,  was 
done ;  every  one  esteemed  him  as  a  sine  qua  non  of  the  so- 
ciety. I  imagine  Gates  will  be  vice  president  and  Sullivan  sec- 
retary." "  It  seems,  therefore,"  continues  Benjamin  Walker, 
to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed,  "  that  our  allies  alone  have 
saved  the  society;  they  say  at  once,  that  we  have  made  many 
sacrifices  to  the  people,  and  now  make  the  last  we  have,  by 
dissolving  the  society  entirely." 

Before,  however,  Washington's  recommendation  was  acted 
upon  by  the  State  chapters,  a  more  reasonable  turn  of  public 
opinion  made  the  change  unnecessary,  so  that  a  general  meet- 
ing, on  the  7th  of  May,  1800,  unanimously  adopted  the  report 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  examine  the  records  of  the  so- 
ciety, which  read  as  follows  : 

"  That  the  institution  of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati  re- 
main as  it  was  originally  proposed  and  adopted  by  the  officers 
of  the  American  army,  at  their  cantonments  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson  river,  in  1783." 

Steuben  was  vice  president  of  the  New  York  State  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati,  from  1785  to  1786,  and  its  president  from 
1786  till  1790. 

The  New  York  Society  was  not  so  easily  frightened  as  the 
New  England  Society  ;  nay,  exasperated  by  the  unjust  oppo- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  5G9 

sition  with  which  it  met,  it  availed  itself  of  every  opportunity  to 
parade  with  great  ostentation,  and  to  show  that  it  was  not  in- 
timidated. Steuben  especially  liked  to  give  vent  to  his  hatred 
against  those  anonymous  writers  of  the  day,  who,  concealing 
their  own  insignificance  behind  the  toga  of  a  "  Brutus,"  "  Cas- 
sius,"  "  Vox  Populi,"  "  Publicola,"  u  Scipio,"  and  others,  lived 
during  the  war  snug  at  home,  while  the  men  whom  they  now 
assailed  were  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country. 

We  found  in  the  above-quoted  essay  of  Johnston  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  account  of  a  ceremony  which  took  place  at 
the  initiation  of  newly  elected  members : 

"  On  this  occasion  they  determined  to  initiate  the  honorary 
members  who  had  been  newly  elected,  by  the  ceremony  of  a 
formal  investiture.  The  assembly  room  at  the  City  Tavern 
was  the  scene  of  the  solemnity.  The  outside  of  the  house 
was  decorated  with  festoons  and  crowns  of  laurel ;  opposite 
the  door  of  entrance,  on  a  dais  tapestried  with  blue  cloth,  was 
elevated  a  great  chair  of  state,  covered  with  light  blue  satin 
fringed  with  white  ;  at  the  back  of  this  was  a  staff  supported 
by  two  hands  united,  holding  up  the  cap  of  Liberty,  which  was 
again  grasped  by  the  eagle  of  the  order,  bearing  on  a  white 
fillet  the  motto,  '  We  will  defend  it.'  At  each  extremity  of 
the  room  amphitheaters  were  erected  for  the  spectators. 

"  A  deputation,  consisting  of  four  members,  dressed  in 
their  uniforms  and  wearing  their  eagles,  first  waited  on  the 
governor  of  the  State  and  the  president  of  Congress,  with  the 
congratulations  of  the  society  for  the  American  independence. 
After  their  return  writh  the  report,  that  had  been  received 
writh  all  the  attention  due  to  the  dignity  of  their  order,  the 
ceremony  commenced. 

"  The  foreign  members,  and  such  as  belonged  to  the  other 
societies,  had  already  taken  their  seats  on  the  left  of  the  chair. 
The  kettle  drums  and  trumpets,  an  important  part  of  the  per- 
formance, were  stationed  in  the  gallery  over  the  door,  and  the 
amphitheaters  were  filled  with  spectators,  when  the  standard- 


570  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

bearer,  Captain  Gnyon,  in  full  Continental  uniform,  wearing 
his  order,  and  escorted  by  four  members,  also  in  full  dress, 
entered  the  hall  and  took  his  position  in  front  of  the  dais. 
He  held  in  his  hand  the  standard  of  the  society.  It  was 
wrought  in  silk,  displaying  the  eagle  upon  thirteen  alternate 
stripes  of  white  and  blue.  The  escort  returned,  and,  led  by 
the  masters  of  ceremony,  the  procession  then  entered  the  hall. 
First  came  the  members,  two-and-two,  followed  by  the  secre- 
tary, Captain  Pemberton,  carrying  the  original  institution  of 
the  society  ;  then  came  the  treasurer,  General  Van  Court- 
landt,  and  his  deputy,  Major  Piatt,  bearing  two  satin  cush* 
ions,  on  the  first  of  which  were  displayed  the  eagles,  and  on 
the  second  the  diplomas  for  the  elected  members.  These  wTere 
followed  by  the  vice  president,  General  Schuyler,  and  the 
president,  Major  General  Baron  De  Steuben,  who  brought  up 
the  rear.  At  his  entrance  the  standard  saluted,  and  the  kettle 
drums  and  trumpets  gave  a  flourish,  which  continued  until  pass- 
ing through  the  avenue  now  formed  by  the  members  opening 
to  the  right  and  left,  he  mounted  the  steps  and  took  his  seat 
upon  the  chair  of  state. 

a  When  this  was  done,  Colonel  Hamilton,  soldier,  orator 
and  statesman,  pronounced  the  inaugural  address ;  after  which 
the  ceremony  of  investiture  commenced. 

"  The  recipient  was  conducted  by  one  of  the  masters  of  cer- 
emony to  the  first  step  before  the  chair  of  the  president,  and 
the  standard-bearer  approached,  After  expressing  a  desire  to 
be  received  into  the  society,  and  promising  a  strict  observance 
of  its  rules  and  statutes,  he  grasped  the  standard  with  his  left 
hand,  while  with  his  right  he  signed  his  name  to  the  institu- 
tion. The  president  then  took  one  of  the  eagles  from  the 
cushion  held  by  the  treasurer,  and  invested  the  recipient  in 
the  following  words:  'Receive  this  mark  as  a  recompense 
for  your  merit,  and  in  remembrance  of  our  glorious  independ- 
ence.' Next  handing  him  a  diploma,  he  said:  ^This  will 
show  your  title  as  a  member  of  our  society.     Imitate  the  il- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  571 

lustrious  hero,  Lucius  Quintius  Cincinnatus,  whom  we  have  cho- 
sen for  our  patron  :  like  him.  be  the  defender  of  your  country 
and  a  good  citizen.'  Another  flourish  of  drums  and  trumpets 
completed  the  ceremony,  and  the  new  member  was  introduced 
to  the  Cincinnati  at  large,  who  arose  in  a  body  to  salute  him. 
This  was  succeeded  by  a  brilliant  festival,  which,  amidst  salvos 
of  artillery,  terminated  the  day." 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
which  succeeded  the  organization  of  the  federal  government, 
1789,  a  committee  of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati  waited 
on  Washington,  in  the  morning,  and  its  chairman,  Steuben, 
addressed  him,  saying  :* 

"The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  the  State  of  JSTe\v  York 
have  instructed  this  delegation  to  present  to  you,  sir,  the 
sentiments  of  the  profoundest  respect.  In  common  with  all 
good  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  they  join  their 
ardent  wishes  for  the  preservation  of  your  life,  health  and 
prosperity.  In  particular  they  feel  the  highest  satisfaction  in 
contemplating  the  illustrious  chief  of  our  armies,  by  the  unan- 
imous vote  of  an  independent  people,  elected  to  the  highest 
station  that  a  dignified  and  enlightened  country  can  bestow. 
Under  your  conduct,  sir,  this  band  of  soldiers  was  led  to  glory 
and  to  conquest,  and  we  feel  confident  that  under  your  admin- 
istration our  country  will  speedily  arrive  at  an  enviable  state 
of  prosperity  and  happiness." 

The  chief  answered :  "I  beg  you,  gentlemen,  to  return 
my  most  affectionate  regards  to  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  to  assure  them  that  I  receive 
their  congratulations,  on  this  auspicious  day,  with  a  mind  con- 
stantly anxious  for  the  honor  and  welfare  of  our  country,  and 
can  only  say  that  the  force  of  my  abilities,  aided  by  an  integ- 
rity of  heart,  shall  be  studiously  pointed  to  the  support  of  its 
dignity  and  the  promotion  of  its  prosperity  and  happiness." 

The  society  afterwards  inarched  in  procession,  attended 

*  R.  "W.  Griswold.     The  Republican  Court,  New  York.  1855,  p.  155. 


..)/2  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

by  Colonel  Baumann's  artillery  and  a  band  of  music,  to  Saint 
Paul's  Church,  where,  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of 
Congress  and  a  great  concourse  of  distinguished  citizens  and 
strangers,  Alexander  Hamilton  delivered  an  oration  on  the 
life  and  character  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene. 

The  society  afterwards  dined  at  the  old  City  Tavern  in 
Broad  street. 

Steuben  filled  the  office  of  president  of  the  New  York 
Cincinnati  for  four  consecutive  years  till  1790,  when  he  re- 
signed. "  I  had  the  honor,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  on  this  occa- 
sion,* "of  presiding  in  that  assembly  which  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  our  institution ;  and  the  moment  I  put  my  hand  to  that 
respectable  act  which  was  to  connect  us  for  purposes  most 
honorable  and  benevolent,  shall  always  be  considered  by  me 
as  the  most  precious  of  rny  life. 

"The  clouds  which  jealousy  and  ill-founded  prejudice  have 
gathered  over  our  society  have  not  intimidated  me.  Con- 
scious of  the  purity  of  our  intentions  I  have  steadily  pursued 
the  line  of  my  duty  in  the  station  to  which  you  were  pleased, 
four  years  since,  to  appoint  me.  Accept  my  sincere  thanks, 
gentlemen,  for  the  repeated  marks  of  attention  and  regard  with 
which  I  have  been  distinguished,  and  do  me  the  justice  to  be- 
lieve that  if  my  efforts  for  the  good  of  the  society  have  not 
had  all  the  success  I  wished,  that  at  least  I  have  had  the  conso- 
lation, during  my  presidency,  of  seeing  the  tie  which  binds  us 
retain  its  strength,  and  the  luster  of  our  eagle  remain  unsul- 
lied. 

"The  motives  which  induced  me  to  call  this  general  meet- 
ing will  be  communicated  to  you.  As  they  regard  the  re- 
spectability of  the  society  they  are  worthy  of  your  attention  ; 
before  I  explain  them,  permit  me  to  inform  you  that  my  par- 
ticular situation  will  prevent  my  filling  this  chair  the  ensuing 
year,  should  your  partiality  honor  me  by  an  election  to  it. 

"  I  have  endeavored  to  place  the  affairs  of  the  society  in 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  xiii. 


LIFE      OF      STEIIBEX.  573 

the  best  order  possible.  For  this  purpose  the  different  pieces 
relative  to  our  institution,  from  its  commencement  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  have  been  collected  and  regularly  entered  in  a  book 
by  your  secretary,  who  is  entitled  to  our  thanks  for  his  care 
and  assiduity ;  a  second  book  contains  the  names  of  all  the 
members  belonging  to  the  society  of  this  State,  to  which  I  pro- 
pose to  add  a  third,  to  contain  the  names  of  those  only  wTho 
have  received  their  diploma. 

"Gentlemen,  the  objects  which  are  at  present  submitted 
to  your  consideration,  are :  1st.  A  law  to  ascertain  the  num- 
ber of  members  which  shall  be  competent  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  the  society ;  2d.  The  settlement  of  the 
accounts  relative  to  the  funds  of  the  society  in  the  hands  of 
our  treasurer ;  3d.  To  make  the  arrangements  for  the  next 
general  meeting ;  4th.  To  inquire  into  the  situation  of  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  the  deceased  members,  and  afford 
them  such  support  as  may  be  in  our  power ;  5th.  To  prevent 
the  intrusion  of  improper  persons  into  the  society,  and  to  ex- 
pel those,  if  there  should  be  any  such,  who  have  been  permitted 
to  join  us  without  a  sufficient  title.  And  lastly,  I  must  again 
recommend  to  you  to  take  into  consideration  and  determine 
on  the  well  founded  claims  of  the  late  officers  of  the  marine 
of  this  State." 

Since  the  subsidence  of  the  prejudices  above  alluded  to, 
the  society  has  attracted  little  of  the  public  attention.  De- 
voting itself,  among  its  members,  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
social  affections,  to  the  relief  of  the  indigent,  and  the  com- 
memoration of  its  illustrious  dead  and  of  their  deeds,  it  has 
little  in  common  with  the  spirit  of  business  that  surrounds  it, 
and  is  too  often  forgotten  by  those  who  are  entitled  to  its 
privileges.  Of  its  thirteen  original  chapters,  six  appear  to  be 
in  operation — those  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  South  Caro- 
lina, Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Maryland.  Of  these, 
that  of  New  York,  considered  the  most  prosperous,  has  scarce- 
ly more  than  one  fourth  of  the  number  of  its  original  mem- 


5*4  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

bers.  The  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  officers  of  Pennsylvania 
who  signed  the  constitution  of  the  society,  are  at  present  rep- 
resented by  only  sixty  of  their  descendants  ;  the  two  hundred 
and  thirty  officers  of  New  York  by  seventy-three  descendants, 
and  the  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  officers  of  Massachu- 
setts by  not  many  more  than  one  hundred.  The  last  veteran, 
Major  Robert  Burnett,  died  on  the  29th  of  November,  1854, 
at  Newburg,  on  the  Hudson.  He  had  lived  long  enough  to 
see  that  the  predictions  of  the  eccentric  Burke,  foreseeing  a 
general  ruin  of  the  liberties  of  America,  were  fallacies,  and  that 
John  Adams'  apprehensions  that  "the  formation  of  the  society 
was  the  first  step  taken  to  deface  the  beauty  of  our  temple  of 
liberty"  were  utterly  groundless.  The  rapid  decrease  of  the 
Cincinnati  has  of  late  attracted  the  notice  of  the  society,  and 
suggested  a  modification  of  the  rules  of  admission,  so  as  to 
make  all  persons  eligible  who  are  descended  from  any  one  who 
might  have  been,  as  well  as  from  one  who  was,  a  member.* 
This  ordinance,  relative  to  the  succession  was  adopted  by  the 
general  meeting  on  the  7th  of  May,  1851. 

The  present  president  of  the  New  York  State  Society 
since  1848,  is  Hamilton  Fish,  son  of  Steuben's  sub-inspector, 
Nicholas  Fish,  and  former  Governor  and  United  States  Senator 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  He  is  at  the  same  time  president 
of  the  general  society,  which  held  its  last  triennial  meeting 
at  Boston,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1857.  Delegates  were  pres- 
ent from  all  the  State  Societies,  except  that  of  South  Carolina, 
and  the  following  officers  chosen :  President,  Hamilton  Fish  ; 
Vice  President,  Charles  S.  Davies  of  Portland,  Maine  ;  Treas- 
urer, Joseph  W.  Scott  of  New  Jersey ;  Secretary,  Thomas  Mc- 
Ewen.  At  the  banquet,  which  took  place  on  the  evening  of 
that  day,  ex-President  Pierce,  and  other  distinguished  guests, 
responded  to  sentiments  offered. 

The  next  general  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati  will  be  held 
at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  I860. 

*  New  York  Courier  and  Inquirer,  March,  1854. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  575 

The  public  at  large  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  Cin- 
cinnati :  they  have  always  been  considered  as  an  exotic  crea- 
tion which  found  no  sympathy  with  the  masses.  Moreover, 
the  material  interests  and  more  important  struggles  of  the 
day  have  scarcely  time  enough  to  appreciate  the  high-toned 
aspirations  of  a  bygone  time,  which  has  almost  nothing  in 
common  with  the  present. 

But  if  in  the  course  of  years  even  every  trace  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Cincinnati  should  be  extinguished,  this  society 
is  immortalized  in  the  name  of  a  city  which,  giant-like,  sprung 
out  of  the  wilderness  with  a  rapidity  since  become  proverbial, 
and  which  is  now  one  of  the  richest  commercial  emporiums  of 
the  United  States.  When  General  St.  Clair  and  Colonel  Sar- 
gent, in  1789,  gave  the  name  of  their  society  to  the  three  log- 
houses  at  the  confluence  of  the  Licking  and  Ohio,  then  called 
Losanteville,*  they  did  not  imagine  that  they  were  enthron- 
ing  a  queen  of  the  West,  and  erecting  a  monument  in  honor 
of  the  Cincinnati,  which  will  probably  last  longer  than  the 
memory  of  all  its  members.  The  daughter  does  honor  to  her 
parents.  On  the  ground  which  they  have  cultivated  and  made 
independent  it  flourishes  proudly  and  mightily,  the  young  and 
vine-crowned  Cincinnati. 

*  Alexander  Johnston,  1.  c 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Steuben  in-  private  Life  from  1T84  till  1790.— The  States  of  Pennsylvania, 
Virginia,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  present  him  with  Land.— He  settles 
in  the  City  of  New  York.— His  different  Residences.— Tmt  Louvre.— He 
writes  Treatises  about  military  Affairs,  especially  the  Militia  and  a  Con- 
tinental Legion.— Washington's  Opinion  thereon.— Steuben's  social  Stand- 
ing in  New  York.— The  Doctor's  Mob.— Other  Anecdotes.— The  German 
Society  of  the  City  of  New  York.— Steuben  its  President  for  Nine  Years.— 
E.  Livingston's  Oration.— Steuben's  political  Views.— The  Prerogatives  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States.— Prince  Henry  of  Prussia.— Election 
of  Governor  in  New  York.— Steuben  present  at  Washington's  Inauguration. 
—Steuben  chosen  Regent  of  the  New  York  University.— His  Plan  for  an 
American  Settlement  on  the  Mississtppi  in  Louisiana.— The  Spanish  Ambas- 
sador  does  not  Answer. — Steuben's  Proposals  not  accepted. 

rjlO  resume  our  narrative,  we  have  to  revert  to  the  time  when 
-*-  the  disbanded  army  returned  to  the  peaceful  occupations 
of  civil  life.  While  others,  who  were  young  enough  to  devote 
themselves  to  other  pursuits,  soon  made  up  the  loss  they  had 
experienced  in  joining  the  army,  Steuben  was  too  old  and  too 
little  acquainted  with  business  to  gain  a  livelihood  in  a  civil 
capacity.  He  was  fifty-four  years  old,  the  greater  part  of 
which  he  had  spent  in  the  field.  Feeling  that  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace,  he  was  of  no  more  use  in  America,  he  proposed 
to  return  to  Europe,  and  live  there  in  agreeable  retirement,  if 
Congress  would  pay  him  a  part  of  his  claims,  but,  as  stated  in 
chapter  XXVI.,  the  matter  was  put  off  from  day  to  day,  from 
year  to  year  ;  and  when  in  1790,  they  finally  arrived  at  a  de- 
cision, Steuben,  on  account  of  his  debts,  was  unable  to  leave 
the  United  States.  He,  therefore,  concluded  to  cultivate  his 
lands  in  Oneida  county,  for  which  purpose  his  means  were  suf- 
ficient. 

Although  he  had,  for  full  six  years,  to  battle  with  Congress, 
Steuben  never  lost  sight  of  the  public  welfare  by  attending  to 


LIFE      OF      STEUliEN.  577 

his  own  affairs,  and  even  the  time  after  he  had  laid  aside  pub- 
lic station,  furnishes  ample  proof  of  his  disinterested  participa- 
tion in  the  prosperity  and  security  of  the  United  States.  These 
ten  years,  from  1784  till  his  death,  naturally  divide  themselves 
into  two  distinct  periods,  the  one  ending  with  the  year  1790, 
when  Steuben's  just  claims  were  settled  and  his  life  secured 
from  penury,  the  other  with  his  death,  during  which  latter 
time  he  lived  in  easy  circumstances,  and  enjoyed  the  society 
of  his  friends  and  the  regards  of  the  American  people. 

We  propose  to  describe,  in  this  chapter,  the  period  from 
1784  till  1790,  As  an  offset  against  the  tardy  way  in  which 
the  general  government  did  satisfy  Steuben's  claims,  we  are 
bound  to  mention  the  liberal  rewards  of  his  services  by  some 
of  the  States. 

Thus  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  even  before  the  conclusion 
of  the  peace  in  March,  1783,  had  made  him  a  citizen  of  the  com- 
monwealth, and  given  him,  in  Westmoreland  county,  a  grant 
of  two  thousand  acres.  Virginia  had  presented  him  with  fif- 
teen thousand  acres,  "  as  a  high  sense  they  had  of  the  merit 
and  services  of  Steuben,"  to  be  located  between  the  Muskin- 
gum and  the  Great  Miami  (in  the  present  State  of  Ohio).  New 
Jersey,  "  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  many  and  sig- 
nal services  by  him  rendered  to  the  United  States  of  America 
during  the  continuance  of  the  late  war,  and  desirous  to  testify 
to  the  world  the  grateful  sense  they  entertain  of  the  said  ser- 
vices," had  given  him  the  life  lease  of  a  forfeited  estate  of 
John  Zabriskie,  lying  in  the  county  of  Bergen,  township  of 
New  Barbadoes,  at  the  New  Bridge,  and  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  New  York ;  but  Steuben,  when  informed 
that  Zabriskie,  in  consequence  of  that  confiscation,  was  left 
without  means,  did  not  accept  the  gift,  and  interposed  in  be- 
half of-Zabriskie. 

The  cities  of  Albany  and  New  York,  the  first  on  the  23d 
of  July,  1783,  the  latter  on  the  11th  of  October,  1784, 
honored  him   with  their  freedom,   and  on  the   5th  of  May, 

25 


5/8  LIFE     O  F      S  T  B  U  ])  E  N  . 

1786,*  the  St:ite  of  New  York  granted  him  one  quarter  of  a 
township,  equal  to  sixteen  thousand  acres,  out  of  the  territory 
recently  purchased  from  the  Oneida  Indians.  The  site  select- 
ed was  some  twelve  miles  north  of  old  Fort  Schuyler,  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Utica,  and  adjoining  the  present  town  of  Remsen. 
It  was  erected  into  a  separate  township,  and  called  after  him 
when  Steuben  settled  there. 

Immediately  after  having  resigned  his  commission,  he  re- 
turned to  New  York,  where  he  first  rented  a  country  house  in 
the  middle  part  of  the  island.  It  belonged  to  Mr.  Provost, 
better  known  at  the  time  as  the  "  ready-money  Provost"  (now 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Schermerhorn),  and  was  situated  in 
the  present  Fifty  seventh  street,  in  Jones's  Wood.  For  some 
reason  unknown,  it  was  called  the  "Louvre"  by  its  proprietor, 
and  Steuben  lived  there  with  his  old  companions  in  arms. 
Here  he  spent  the  little  money  left  him,  with  North,  Walk- 
er, William  S.  Smith,  Fairlie,  and  others.  They,  however, 
very  soon  went  away  to  establish  themselves,  and  left  him  in 
a  very  solitary  situation.  Steuben  corresponded  with  his  old 
friends,  took  part  in  the  politics  of  the  day,  and  wrote  pam- 
phlets about  the  military  affairs   and   militia  of  the  United 

*  ilAn  Act  for  the  speedy  sale  of  unappropriated  lands  within  this  State,  and 
for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned.  Passed  on  the  5th  of  May,  1786. 
"XXXII.  And  whereas,  Baron  Frederick  William  Steuben,  late  a  major  gen- 
eral in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  has  rendered  very  essential  service  to 
this  State,  as  one  of  the  United  States,  by  introducing  a  regular  discipline  into 
the  army,  and  a  spirit  of  economy  into  the  interior  administration  of  the  regi- 
ments, and  this  Legislature,  being  willing  to  afford  a  public  testimony  of  the 
just  sense  they  entertain  of  his  services:  therefore 

"XXXIII.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  autJioriiy  aforesaid,  That  the  said  comrnis 
sioners  shall,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized,  to  direct  letters  patent  to  be 
prepared  fur,  and  granted  to  the  said  Baron  Frederick  William  Steuben,  in  fee 
simple,  one  quarter  of  a  township,  equal  to  sixteen  thousand  acres  of  land, 
part  of  any  township  which  he  may  choose,  out;  of  the  townships  to  be  laid 
out  in  any  of  the  tracts  of  land  directed  to  be  laid  out  in  pursuance  of  this 
act,  except  in  the  bound  of  the  said  lands  purchased  of  the  Oneida  Indians, 
without  fee  or  reward,  or  paying  any  consideration  for  the  land  granted  to 
him;  and  having  approved  of  such  letters  patent,  his  Excellency,  the  Gov- 
ernor, shall  affix  the  great  seed  of  the  State  thereto." 


LIFE      OF      STEU15EX.  5?  9 

States.  One  of  the  first  works  he  undertook  after  his  resig- 
nation, was  the  elaboration  of  a  plan  for  their  land  defense. 
We  have  no  room  for  this  important  essay  in  full ;  it  will,  there- 
fore, suffice  to  state  here,  that  he  proposed  that  in  times  of 
peace  the  whole  American  army  should  consist  of  one  legion 
of  three  thousand  men,  permanent  and  Continental ;  a  corps  ot 
artillerists,  sappers,  miners,  artificers,  etc.,  of  one  thousand, 
permanent  and  Continental,  also ;  and  seven  legions  of  estab- 
lished militia,  consisting  of  three  thousand  men  each  ;  so  that 
the  whole  would  amount  to  twenty-five  thousand  effectives. 

Steuben  communicated  this  plan  first  to  Washington,  who, 
on  the  15th  of  March,  1784,*  from  Mount  Vernon,  answered 
it  as  follows : 

"  T  have  perused,  with  attention,  the  plan  which  you  have 
formed  for  establishing  a  Continental  legion,  and  for  training 
a  certain  part  of  the  arms-bearing  men  of  the  Union,  as  a  mi- 
litia in  times  of  peace ;  and  with  the  small  alterations  which 
have  been  suggested  and  made,  I  very  much  approve  of  it.  It 
was  no  impleading  and  flattering  circumstance  to  me  to  find 
such  a  coincidence  of  ideas  as  appears  to  run  through  your 
plan  and  the  one  I  had  the  honor  to  lay  before  a  committee  of 
Congress  in  May  last.  Mine,  however,  was  a  hasty  produc- 
tion, the  consequence  of  a  sudden  call  and  little  time  for  ar- 
rangement ;  yours,  of  maturer  thought  and  better  digestion. 
At  the  same  time  that  I  limited  the  propriety  of  a  Continental 
militia,  I  glided  almost  insensibly  into  what  I  thought  would, 
rather  than  what  I  conceived  ought  to  be,  a  proper  peace  es- 
tablishment for  this  country. 

"  A  peace  establishment  ought  always  to  have  two  objects 
in  view  :  the  one  present  security  of  posts  and  of  stores,  and 
the  public  tranquillity  ;  the  other,  to  be  prepared,  if  the  latter 
is  impracticable,  to  resist  with  efficacy  the  sudden  attempts 
of  a  foreign  or  domestic  enemy.  If  we  have  no  occasion  for 
troops  for  the  first  purposes,  and  were  certain  of  not  wanting 
*  Washington's  Writings,  ix.,  25. 


580  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

any  for  the  second,  then  all  expenses,  of  every  nature  and 
kind  whatsoever  on  this  score,  would  be  equally  nugatory  and 
unjustifiable;  but  while  men  have  a  disposition  to  wrangle, 
and  to  disturb  the  peace  of  society,  either  from  ambitious, 
political  or  interested  motives,  common  prudence  and  fore- 
sight require  such  an  establishment  as  is  likely  to  insure  to 
us  the  blessings  of  peace,  although  the  undertaking  should  be 
attended  with  difficulty  and  expense ;  and  I  can  think  of  no 
plan  more  likely  to  answer  the  purpose,  than  the  one  you  have 
suggested,  which,  the  principles  being  established,  may  be  en- 
larged or  diminished  at  pleasure,  according  to  circumstances. 
It  therefore  meets  my  approbation-,  and  has  my  best  wishes  for 
its  success." 

Poverty  soon  compelled  Steuben  to  give  up  his  dismantled 
and  deserted  residence,  and  to  surrender  the  "Louvre."  His 
old  friend  and  aid-de-camp,  B.  Walker,  who  had  married  in 
the  meantime,  and  taken  a  house  in  Maiden  Lane,  in  New 
York,  nearly  opposite  its  junction  with  Liberty  street,  invited 
him  to  stay  with  him.  When  Walker  afterwards  removed  to 
Courtland  street,  Steuben  engaged  rooms  in  the  present  Fulton 
street,  at  a  Dr.  Vache's,  and  took  his  dinners  at  the  celebrated 
boarding-house  of  the  Misses  Dabeny,  in  Wall  street,  nearly 
opposite  Hanover.  Having  lived  there  a  year  or  two,  he 
went  to  the  house  of  a  Dr.  Tillory,  at  the  south-east  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Wall  street,  till  he  finally,  in  1791,  took  a 
house  opposite  Saint  Paul's  Church,  the  present  21G  Broad- 
way, which  he  occupied  down  to  his  removal  to  Steuben,  in 
1794. 

Steuben  was  a  great  favorite  in  social  circles,  and  especially 
among  the  ladies.  He  engaged  in  their  amusements,  and  by 
his  wit  and  pleasantry  the  delights  of  any  party  where  he  wTas 
were  increased.  We  find  his  name  on  the  invitation  list  of 
Mrs.  Jay,  during  the  years  1787  and  1788;  he  was  intimate 
with  Duer,  Duane,  Livingston,  Jay,  Varick,  Hamilton,  Fish  and 
others.    He  cultivated  social  intercourse  with  all  the  prominent 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  581 

and  fashionable  families  of  the  city,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
was  very  popular  among  all  classes  of  the  people.  II.  D.  Yon 
Bulow,  who  was  in  New  York  in  1792,  and  paid  a  visit  to 
Steuben,  says  that  he  was  known  by  everybody  as  "the  baron," 
and  that  when  "  the  baron"  was  spoken  of,  everybody  knew 
that  Steuben  was  the  man.  When,  at  the  famous  doctors'  mob, 
produced,  in  1786  or  1787,  by  the  careless  exposure  of  a  sub- 
ject from  the  dissecting  room  of  the  hospital,  he  was  acci- 
dentally wrounded,  the  mob  made  room  to  let  him  pass,  and 
cheered  him,  while  they  went  on  in  their  work  of  destruction. 
President  Duer  relates  an  amusing  anecdote  of  Steuben,  con- 
nected with  this  affair: 

"It  became  necessary,"  says  he,*  "to  call  out  the  militia 
to  put  down  the  rioters,  and  many  of  the  principal  citizens  re- 
paired to  the  assistance  of  the  civil  authority.  Some  of  them 
were  severely  wounded.  Mr.  Jay  received  a  serious  wound 
in  the  head,  and  the  Baron  De  Steuben  was  struck  by  a  stone, 
which  knocked  him  down,  inflicted  a  flesh  wound  upon  his 
forehead,  and  wrought  a  sudden  change  in  the  compassionate 
feelings  he  had  previously  entertained  towards  the  rabble. 
At  the  moment  of  receiving  it  he  was  earnestly  remonstrat- 
ing with  Governor  Clinton  against  ordering  the  militia  to  fire 
on  the  people;  but  as  soon  as  he  wras  hit,  his  benevolence  de- 
serted him,  and,  as  he  fell,  he  lustily  cried  out,  '  Fire,  gov- 
ernor, fire !'  He  was  carried  into  Mr.  Duer's  house,  and  there 
being  no  surgeon  at  hand,  Lady  Kitty  Duer  stanched  his  wound 
and  bound  up  his  head.  After  his  departure,  Governor  Clin- 
ton provoked  the  laughter  of  the  company  by  recalling  these 
circumstances." 

Though  never  perfectly  master  of  the  English  language, 
he  understood  and  spoke  it  with  tolerable  correctness.  He 
would  sometimes,  and  as  a  matter  of  jest,  miscall  names,  and 
blend  or  adopt  words  similar  in  sound,  dissimilar  in  meaning. 

*  Rufus  W.  Griswold.  The  Republican  Court,  New  York,  1854,  quarto, 
p.  102. 


582  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Once  when  dining  with  General  Washington,*  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton asked  him  what  amusements  he  had.  "  I  read,  and  I  piny 
chess,  my  lady,"  said  the  baron  ;  "  and  yesterday  I  was  invit- 
ed to  go  a  fishing.  It  was  understood  to  be  a  very  fine  amuse- 
ment. I  sat  in  the  boat  two  hours,  though  it  was  very  warm, 
and  caught  two  fish."  "  Of  what  kind,  baron  ?"  asked  the 
lady.  "Indeed,  I  do  not  recollect  perfectly,  but  one  of  them 
was  a  whale."  "A  whale,  baron,  in  the  North  river!"  "Yes, 
on  my  word,  a  very  fine  whale,  as  that  gentleman  informed 
me.  Did  you  not  tell  me  it  was  a  whale,  major?"  "An  eel, 
baron  !"  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  my  lady,  but  the  gentleman 
certainly  called  it  a  whale.  But  it  is  of  little  consequence.  I 
shall  abandon  the  trade,  notwithstanding  the  fine  amusement 
it  affords." 

Among  the  Germans  of  the  city  of  New  York  Steuben  oc- 
cupied a  most  prominent  position.  They  looked  on  him  with 
pride,  and  held  him  in  high  veneration.  He  took  part  in  their 
associations  and  benevolent  institutions.  When,  on  the  23d  of 
August,  1784,  the  German  Society,  for  the  benevolent  purpose 
of  assisting  poor  Germans  and  their  descendants,  was  founded, 
Steuben  was  not  in  town ;  but  immediately  after  his  return  he 
joined  it,  and  at  once  became  its  most  influential  member.  On 
the  7th  of  February,  1785,  Dr.  Kuntze  moved  that  the  society 
express  their  thanks  to  Steuben  for  the  honor  he  conferred  on 
them  in  becoming  a  member,  and  on  the  3d  of  October,  1785, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  president,  which  place  he  occupied 
until  his  death.  This  society,  which  still  flourishes  and  numbers 
about  one  thousand  members,  was  in  its  beginning  represent- 
ed and  sustained  by  revolutionary  officers,  as,  for  instance, 
Colonels  Henry  Emanuel  Lutterlob,  its  first  president,  and 
Frederick  Yon  Weisscnfels.  Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg  and 
General  Peter  Muhlenberg,  on  the  motion  of  Steuben,  were 
made  honorary  members;  and  many  distinguished  Americans, 
as  Mayor  Duane,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Edward  Livingston,  Ste- 

*  Thacher  &  Bowon,  p.  83. 


L  I  F  E     OF     6  T  B  U  B-JB  N  .  583 

phen  Van  Renssalaer,  Peter  Schuyler,  Horatio  Gates,  and  other 
distinguished  men,  afterwards  became  members.  The  emi- 
gration, which  then  was  in  its  infancy,  did  not  require  much 
attention  of  the  society.  Here  and  there  a  ship  arrived  with 
Germans,  "  bound  to  labor,"  on  whose  behalf  they  interfered, 
as,  for  instance,  in  1792,  when  the  board  of  directors  met  at 
Steuben's  house,  to  protect  the  Germans,  who,  under  the  most 
disadvantageous  terms,  had  been  engaged  by  the  Genesee  land 
association.  It  appears  from  the  minutes  of  the  board,  that 
the  arrival  of  two  ships  with  emigrants  at  almost  the  same 
time  was  a  very  extraordinary  event.  Thus  the  society  had 
more  ample  occasion  for  charitable  purposes  at  home,  and  for 
cherishing  kind  feelings  of  benevolence  and  friendship  among 
its  members.  On  the  anniversary  of  the  society,  which,  on 
motion  of  Edward  Livingston,  was  celebrated  on  the  11th  of 
August,  being  the  day  of  German  independence,  in  conse- 
quence of  Herman's  victory  over  Varus,  a  German  and  En- 
glish oration  was  delivered,  and  a  dinner  taken.  Edward  Liv- 
ingston was  the  English  speaker  in  1789,  and,  in  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  German  character,  said  at  the  end  of  his  speech : 

"  The  next  is  one  whom  here  I  fear  to  name,  and  scarce 
dare  venture  to  describe,  lest  I  offend  that  virtue  which,  not 
obtrusive,  shares  the  voice  of  fame.  JBut  vain  the  purpose 
to  conceal  it!  When  German  worth  is  the  theme,  can  we 
omit  the  name  of  Steuben  f  or  when  we  speak  of  services  like 
his,  will  admiration  bind  itself  to  forms?  No!  regardless 
of  the  feelings  it  may  excite,  the  voice  of  truth  proclaims 
him  the  creator  of  our  force,  who,  from  a  chaos  of  disorder, 
raised  our  military  fame.  Unhappily  the  voice  of  gratitude 
has  not  been  heard ;  our  country  yet,  my  friends,  is  not  un- 
just. It  was  but  lost  amid  the  din  of  acclamation  ;  and  that 
voice,  though  small  and  still,  shall  soon  be  heard,  and  teach 
our  country  to  reward  his  merit." 

After  Steuben's  death  the  society,  in  his  honor,  held  a 
funeral  service  in  the  German  Reformed  Church,  in  Nassau 


584 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN 


street,  and  wore  crape  for  six  weeks.  At  the  same  time  it 
published  a  eulogy  on  him,  which  was  signed  by  D.  Grimm, 
vice  president,  and  William  Wilmerding,  secretary. 

In  his  political  views  Steuben  was  a  decided  Federalist,  and 
as  such  took  part  in  the  political  events  of  the  day.  We  found 
among  his  papers  a  treatise  about  the  national  debt  of  the 
United  States,  several  articles  about  the  prerogatives  of  the 
President,  and  a  historical  review  of  the  duties  of  the  supreme 
executive  officer  in  ancient  and  modern  republics.  All  these 
essays  belong— to  characterize  them  in  one  word— to  the  po- 
litical school  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  show,  in  a  great 
measure,  Steuben's  learning  and  sound  judgment  in  political 
matters. 

When,  before  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution,  in 
a  circle  of  his  friends,  the  question  of  the  form  of  government 
was  discussed,  and  it  was  not  yet  decided  whether  the  Presi- 
dent was  to  be  vested  only  with  the  authority  of  the  highest 
civil  officer,  or  with  the  more  princely  privileges  of  the  Dutch 
Stadtholder,  one  of  the  party,  addressing  himself  to  Steuben, 
asked  whether  Prince  Henry,  of  Prussia,  would  be  willing  to 
accept  an  invitation,  and  whether  he  would  make  a  good  Pres- 
ident ?  Steuben  answered,  "As  far  as  I  know  the  prince  he 
would  never  think  of  crossing  the  ocean  to  be  your  master.  I 
wrote  to  him  a  good  while  ago  what  kind  of  fellows  you  are; 
he  would  not  have  the  patience  to  stay  three  days  among 
you." 

When  Mr.  Jay,  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
in  1792,  was  nominated  for  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  by  the  Federal  Republicans  in  opposition  to  Governor 
George  Clinton,  Steuben  attended  the  public  meeting  called 
to  recommend  Mr.  Jay  to  the  suffrages  of  the  people.  He 
was  complimented  by  placing  his  name  first  on  the  list  of 
those  who  signed  the  address  on  that  occasion,  which  was 
published  the  next  day.  Chancellor  Livingston  had  pre- 
viously joined  the  anti-Federalists,  and  of  course  was  ready  to 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  535 

employ  his  splendid  talents  and  the  great  influence  of  his 
family  in  support  of  Governor  Clinton.  He  published  an 
answer  to  the  address,  alluding  to  the  signers  as  mere  inter- 
ested partisans,  and  to  Steuben  as  a  "  pensioner"  of  the 
general  government,  in  a  manner  not  very  agreeable  nor 
suitable  to  his  position  and  character.  Steuben  sent  imme- 
diately to  General  Armstrong,  with  whom  he  was  connected 
by  the  ties  of  mutual  esteem  and  friendship,  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  who  the  general  thought  was  the  author.  The 
latter  said  at  once  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  his  being  the 
chancellor.  "  Then,  my  friend,  I  rely  on  you  for  an  answer." 
Armstrong  readily  assented.  The  next  day  "  Timothy  Tick- 
ler's" first  letter  was  published,  assuming  the  chancellor  to  be 
the  author,  and  addressed,  to  him  by  his  official  title.  The 
chancellor  then,  under  his  signature  of  "  Aristides,"  published 
a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Jay,  as  Chief  Justice,  etc.,  assuming 
him  to  be  the  author  of  Tickler's  letter.  Mr.  Jay  forthwith, 
in  the  calm,  judicious  and  dignified  manner  by  which  all  the 
acts,  public  and  private,  of  that  able,  wise,  and  virtuous 
patriot  were  distinguished,  conclusively  disclaimed  the  impu- 
tation.* 

At  the  inauguration  of  Washington,  on  the  30th  of  April, 
1789,  Steuben  was  conspicuous  in  the  group  on  the  platform 
when  Washington  took  the  oath  of  his  office.  A  few  days 
after  he  attended  a  ball  which  was  given  at  the  City  Assembly 
Rooms  in  honor  of  this  event,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  Steuben 
waited  on  the  President  to  pay  him  his  respects  in  the  name 
of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  delivered  a  complimentary 
address.f 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1787,  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York  appointed  Steuben  one  of  the  regents  of  the 
State  University.  The  regents,  numbering  twenty-two,  "are 
authorized  and  required  to  visit  and  inspect  all  the  colleges 

*  Communicated  by  John  "W.  Mulligan,  Esq. 
•j-  Rufus  W.  Griswold,  the  Republican  Court,  pp.  140,  154,  111. 
25* 


58G  LIFE     OF      STEUBEN. 

and  academies  in  the  State,  examine  into  the  condition  ana 
system  of  education  and  discipline  therein,  and  make  an 
annual  report  of  the  state  of  the  same  to  the  Legislature."* 

During  the  whole  year  1788,  when  his  prospect  of  getting 
his  claims  settled  was  very  bad,  and  when,  during  a  political 
interregnum,  his  future  wTas  entirely  uncertain,  Steuben  was 
occupied  with  a  plan  which,  if  carried  out,  would  have  exerted 
a  decisive  influence  on  the  political  formation  of  this  continent, 
and,  by  its  consequences,  greatly  accelerated  the  westward 
movement  and  expansion  of  the  United  States.  He  proposed 
to  plant  a  colony  within  the  dominions  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
on  the  Mississippi,  partly  agricultural,  partly  military,  in  order 
to  secure  the  King  of  Spain  against  any  invasion  of  his  neigh- 
bors, and  to  grant  to  the  American  settlers  on  the  western 
Alleghanies  a  free  outlet  for  their  produce. 

The  plan  of  this  interesting  project  reads  as  follows: 

"  1st.  Baron  Steuben  engages  to  plant  a  colony  of  farm- 
ers and  artificers,  not  exceeding  in  number  four  thousand 
two  hundred  persons,  within  the  Spanish  province  of  Louis- 
iana. 

"  2d.  For  this  purpose  a  concession  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  in  such  place  as,  in  military  view  and 
relation  to  the  principles  of  the  project,  may  be  hereafter 
agreed  upon,  is  made  to  the  said  Baron  Steuben  and  his  asso- 
ciates. 

"  3d.  As  a  further  encouragement  the  Spanish  government 
allows  to  each  person,  a  farmer  or  artificer,  brought  to  locate 
himself  in  good  faith  within  the  said  tract,  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  Spanish  dollars  as  a  bounty. 

"  4th.  Baron  Steuben  and  his  associates  will,  to  every  such 
settler,  make  conveyance  in  fee  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
acres  of  good  and  arable  land  within  the  concession  aforesaid, 
free  of  all  expense  save  such  as  may  arise  upon  the  writing  of 
the  deed. 

*  Laws  of  New  York,  Jones  and  Varick's  edition,  ii.,  143. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  587 

u5th.  The  settlers  within  the  said  tract  will  be  drawn  from 
the  United  States,  or  other  foreign  countries,  and  no  person 
now  a  Spanish  subject  will  be  taken  from  his  present  settle- 
ment to  make  a  part  of  this. 

"  6th.  On  the  part  of  government  it  will  be  agreed  that 
the  inhabitants  of  this  tract  be  allowed  to  possess  and  exer- 
cise such  mode  of  religious  worship  as  they  may  think  proper, 
and  that  no  penalty,  forfeiture,  disqualification,  etc.,  be  incurred 
by  any  differences  in  faith  or  practice  from  those  established 
within  his  Catholic  Majesty's  dominions. 

"  7th.  The  laws  of  the  United  States  relative  to  the  tenure, 
transfer  or  descent  of  property  will  be  granted  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  said  tract,  and  they  will  be  allowed  to  institute 
such  process,  office  and  courts  touching  these  subjects  as  may 
be  proper  and  necessary ;  provided  only,  that  this  will  be  done 
at  their  own  expense  and  without  charge  to  government ;  and 
provided  further,  that  in  all  cases  when  the  parties  in  suit  on 
these  subjects  signify  their  consent  and  desire  to  have  decision 
according  to  the  Spanish  laws,  it  be  granted  to  them. 

"  8th.  In  all  other  respects  the  said  inhabitants  will  be  en- 
tirely, and  without  qualification,  subject  to  the  Spanish  laws 
and  usages. 

"This  part  of  the  colony  will  be  formed  into  a  militia  and 
liable  to  military  service  within  the  province  when  any  exi- 
gency of  government  may  require  it. 

"  9th.  In  addition  to  this  colony  the  baron  will  engage  to 
raise  a  corps  of  eight  hundred  men  to  be  formed  into  four  bat- 
talions, three  of  musketry,  and  one  of  riflemen.  This  corps 
will  in  all  respects  be  subject  to  the  discipline  and  service  of 
his  Catholic  Majesty's  troops,  save  only  that  in  questions  of 
property  and  religion,  the  privileges  granted  to  the  other  part 
of  the  colony  be  extended  to  this  also. 

"  10th.  The  power  of  nominating  all  officers  of  the  regular 
corps  will  be  exclusively  with  the  general  thereof,  and  when 


588  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

approved  by  the  king,  commissions  will  be  issued  to  them  ac- 
cordingly, and  vacancies  supplied  in  the  same  manner. 

"  11th.  The  same  bounty  will  be  given  to  soldiers  as  to  the 
farmers  and  artificers. 

"12th.  Such  colonists  and  recruits  as  may  be  engaged  in 
Germany,  will  be  paid  and  provided  at  the  king's  expense, 
from  the  day  of  their  enlistments  or  engagements  respectively, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  safe  and  easy  transportation,  it  will  be 
agreed  between  the  courts  of  Madrid  and  Versailles,  that  they 
be  allowed  a  free  and  unmolested  passage  from  St.  Esprit  in 
France  to  Carthagena  in  Spain,  where  they  are  to  be  embarked 
in  royal  vessels  for  New  Orleans  in  Louisiana." 

Steuben  presented  this  plan  to  Don  Diego  Guardaqui,  then 
Spanish  minister  in  Philadelphia,  who  dispatched  it  to  Madrid  ; 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  court  entered  into  any  nego- 
tiation about  it.  Its  rejection  is  too  natural  when  we  consider 
the  absolute  form  of  government  in  Spain.  It  could  not  suit 
them,  that  one  of  its  colonies  should  be  more  free  than  the 
rest,  and  if  not  the  thorough  appreciation  of  the  case,  at  least 
the  instinct  of  self-preservation  taught  the  Spanish  ministry, 
that  admitting  American  laws  even  on  a  small  scale,  would 
by  and  by  have  opened  and  subjected  the  entire  colony  to  the 
American  pioneers,  as  has  been  subsequently  shown  in  the  in- 
stance of  Texas. 

It  is,  nevertheless,  interesting  to  examine  the  motives  of 
Steuben's  plan.  They  show  us  the  statesman  and  soldier  who 
anticipates  the  future  and  tries  to  found  a  building  on  mate- 
rials loose  in  themselves,  but  grand  in  the  hands  of  a  political 
talent,  the  executiou  of  which  was  only  delayed  and  reserved 
to  the  succeeding  generation.  It  is  at  the  same  time  gratify- 
ing to  observe  that  Steuben  understood  perfectly  well  the 
secret  of  the  growth  of  this  rising  American  empire  in  the  self- 
government  of  the  commonwealth  ;  a  principle  more  antagon- 
istic to  the  prerogatives  of  the  Spanish  autocrat  could  not  be 
found. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  589 

As  in  the  following  year  Steuben's  prospects  cleared  up 
and  the  favorable  settlement  of  his  claims  became  certain,  he 
gave  up  the  idea  of  removing  to  the  far  West,  and  devoted  his 
whole  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  his  own  lands  in  Oneida 
county. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Steuben  from  1790  to  1794.— His  Kesidence  ox  ins  Fabm.— Its  Sititation.-Stf.it- 
ben's  Occupations  in  the  Country.— His  Secbktaby,  John  W.  Mulligan.— 
Steuben  has  no  Intercouksk  with  his  Family.— His  Nephews  Von  Canitz.— 
He  makes  a  Survey  of  the  Neighborhood  of  New  York,  when  War  avith 
England  is  apprehended.— Steuben's  Plan  reproduced  in  1807.— Mulligan's 
Letter  to  Walker.— Steuben  appointed  Commissary  for  the  Fortification 
of  the  Western  and  Northern  Frontier.— A  War  agatnst  England  appears 
inevitable.— The  German  Society,  under  Steuben,  works  for  a  Day  on  the 
Forts  on  Governor's  Island.— Steuben  goes  to  the  West.— His  official  Du- 
ties detain  him  till  the  End  of  August.— His  Life  on  the  Farm.— His  Plans 
and  Improvements.— Social  Intercourse  with  his  Neighbors.— The  French 
Revolution  the  all-absorbing  Subject  of  Conversation— Retreat  of  the 
Prussians  from  Champagne.— Abolition  of  Titles  of  Nobility.— Mappa.— 
Dutch  Land  Company.— Simeon  Woodruff.— Old  Soldiers  visit  Stephen. 
—His  Opinion  about  the  Military  Capacity  of  the  Yankees.— Mulligan 
heads  to  Steuben  and  plays  Chess  with  him.— Steuben  suddenly  paralyzed 
on  the  25th  of  November,  1794.— He  dies  Three  Days  afterwards.— His  Burial 
in  the  Forest.— Contrast  between  Steuben  and  his  old  Prussian  Brothers 
in  Arms.— Who  is  the  happiest  of  them  ?— Visit  to  Steuben's  Grave.— Its 
Inscription.— Its  Scenery.— North  erects  a  Monument  in  New  York  in  Honor  of 
Steuben.— Its  present  Condition.— Agitation  among  the  Germans  of  the  United 
States  for  erecting  a  Steuben  Monument.— The  Plan  does  not  seem  to  buoc  k  k  d. 

/CONGRESS  having  passed,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1790,  the 
\J  annuity  of  Steuben,  we  find  him,  as  early  as  the  10th,  on 
the  way  to  his  farm.  The  trip  which  is  now  made  in  about 
twelve  hours  from  New  York,  then  required  as  many  days. 
Steuben  stopped  at  North's  in  Duanesburg,  dined  with  Philip 
Schuyler  or  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  in  Albany,  and  did  not 
pass  an  old  comrade's  door.  John  Post,  an  old  German  from 
Schenectady^  was  at  that  time  the  only  merchant  in  what  is 
now  called  Utica.  Steuben  knew  him  from  the  war,  and  made 
his  house  his  last  resting  place  when  he  journeyed  from  New 
York  for  his  home. 

Before  1790  he  had  only  been  once  or  twice  on  his  farm  ; 
now  he  regularly  spent  some  summer  months   there.     The 


LIFE     O  F     ST  E  IT  B  E  N  .  591 

township*  in  which  it  was  situated,  is  in  an  elevated  position, 
and  its  soil  better  adapted  to  grazing  than  the  raising  of  grain. 
A  high  ridge  of  land  runs  east  and  west  through  it.  Steuben 
hill  and  Star  hill  are  the  most  elevated  points  in  this  ridge,  the 
highest  land  in  the  county.  Their  altitude  is  so  great  that 
Indian  corn  entirely  foils  to  mature  there.  The  visitor  is  at 
once  impressed  with  the  vastness  of  the  landscape.  N"o  land 
within  many  miles  is  as  high  as  where  he  stands.  Westerly 
and  north-westerly  the  view  is  almost  unbounded.  A  large 
section  of  the  Oneida  lake  is  to  be  seen,  and  a  person  well 
acquainted  in  central  New  York,  in  viewing  the  location  of 
different  highlands,  soon  becomes  satisfied  that  portions  of 
seven  different  counties  are  distinctly  seen.  In  general  the 
surface  of  the  township  may  be  termed  stony.  Boulders  of 
every  size  and  shape,  some  of  which  are  of  immense  propor- 
tions, thickly  dot  the  fields. 

Steuben  kept  a  regular  journal  during  his  sojourns  on  his 
farm,  in  which  all  his  entries  are  made  with  the  same  regu- 
larity as  his  official  reports  while  in  active  service.  Thus  we 
find  in  his  diary  that,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1790,  he  gave  a 
dinner  and  festivity  to  all  the  men  on  his  land  and  in  the 
neighborhood.  Thus  we  follow  him  through  his  apprentice- 
ship as  a  farmer ;  Ave  see  his  arrangements,  his  hopes  and  dis- 
appointments, his  contracts  for  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  his 
discontent  with  his  superintendent,  Samuel  Sizer,  his  sales  to 
settlers,  and  his  dispositions  for  the  next  year.  Whenever  he 
found  a  worthy  revolutionary  soldier  he  made  him  a  present 
of  a  lot,  forty  to  a  hundred  acres  in  extent.  In  the  autumn, 
he  regularly  returned  to  New  York,  to  spend  the  winter  there 
among  his  old  acquaintances.  Although  he  had  no  family,  he 
lived  happy  and  satisfied  with  some  of  his  old  companions  in 
arms,  his  rural  neighbors,  and  such  friends  as  might  tend  to 
enliven  his  retired  home. 

In  1791  Steuben  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  W.  Mulli- 
*  P.  Jones.     Annals  of  Oneida  county,  Rome,  1851. 


592  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

gan,  a  young  and  promising  man,  whose  father  had  been  an 
active  Whig  in  New  York  daring  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Mulli- 
gan, after  having  finished  his  studies  in  Columbia  College,  be- 
came Steuben's  secretary,  and  served  him  with  a  fidelity  and 
love  which  won  him  the  friendship  and  confidence  of  his  pro- 
tector. Steuben  concentrated  all  the  tenderness  of  his  heart 
on  his  friends,  as  he  had  no  family  relations,  and  there  are  few 
examples  to  be  found  in  which  the  feeling  of  kindness  and  good 
fellowship  were  so  sincerely  reciprocated  as  between  Steuben 
and  his  friends. 

He  did  not  like  his  relatives  in  Europe.  In  November, 
1786,  his  two  nephews,  sons  of  his  only  sister,  the  Barons  De 
Canitz,  visited  him,  but  their  conduct  was  so  bad,  their  morals 
were  so  low,  that  he  sent  them  back  in  disgust  after  a  year. 
They  had  no  education  at  all ;  one  of  them  had  been  a  lieu- 
tenant in  a  Prussian  infantry  regiment,  and  the  other  ensign  ; 
but  the  oldest  soon  resigned  on  account  of  a  low  marriage,  and 
the  other  deserted.  We  do  not  find  any  trace  of  a  single  let- 
ter to  his  relatives  in  Europe ;  but  we  find  a  great  many 
applications,  on  their  part,  for  money  and  assistance.  These 
repeated  tribulations  annoyed  Steuben  so  much,  that  he  gave 
up  all  intercourse  with  his  family,  and  left  them  no  part  of  his 
fortune  in  his  will. 

In  a  letter  written  on  the  27th  of  July,  1790,  in  regard  to 
his  oldest  nephew,  he  says  on  this  subject:*  "I  am  a  self- 
made  man  :  my  personal  position  is  the  work  of  my  own 
hands  ;  but  I  never  forgot  to  help  and  afford  relief  to  my 
poorer  relatives  whenever  I  could.  They,  however,  took  me 
for  a  richer  man  than  I  am.  The  reputation  of  my  having  ac- 
quired immense  possessions  and  a  large  fortune  spread  to  the 
extreme  ends  of  Germany,  therefore  I  could  not  satisfy  all 
demands  on  the  part  of  my  family.  The  little  I  could  do  Avas 
partially  compared  with  what  I  could  not  do  for  them,  and 
rather  put  to  my  debit  than  to  my  credit.  They  consid- 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Sprague. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  593 

ered  themselves  entitled  to  get  all  and  every  thing  from  me, 
while  I  expected  nothing  from  them." 

In  the  fall  of  1793,  after  the  return  from  his  farm,  Stenben, 
apprehending  that  the  ill  feeling  between  the  United  States 
and  England  would  lead  to  a  war,  made  a  survey  of  the  neigh- 
borhood of  New  York,  and,  accompanied  by  his  old  sub- 
inspector,  Nicholas  Fish,  examined  the  ground  between  Hell- 
Gate  and  the  Narrows,  looking  out  for  the  best  places  to  erect 
forts.  He  handed  the  plan,  with  a  memoir,  to  the  corporation 
of  New  York,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  gratitude  to  the 
city.  In  1807  this  plan  was  reproduced  and  used  for  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  was  intended. 

Mulligan,  on  the  1st  of  August,  1807,  wrote  from  New 
York  the  following  interesting  letter  in  regard  to  it  to 
Walker  :* 

"In  the  present  state  of  our  political  affairs,  the  subject  of 
fortifications  to  defend  this  city  naturally  excites  considerable 
attention  and  anxiety.  Various  plans  are  devised  and  pro- 
posed, but  that  which  includes  the  defense  of  the  Narrows 
seems  to  have  most  advocates.  One  has  been  published  which 
I  believe  to  be  an  entire  plagiarism  from  one  framed  by  our 
excellent  friend,  my  benefactor,  Baron  Steuben.  In  the  year 
1793,  as  I  believe  you  are  informed,  he  devoted  one  or  two 
days  to  an  actual  survey  at  the  Narrows,  and  formed  a  plan 
which,  with  a  memoir,  he  presented  to  the  corporation.  After 
particular  search  it  is  not  to  be  found.  I  hope  that  he  may 
have  left  a  copy  among  his  plans  and  papers  in  your  possession. 
The  object  of  my  present  application  is  that  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  search,  and  if  you  find  either  the  plan  or  memoir, 
to  send  them  on,  as  far  as  your  search  may  be  successful,  as 
soon  as  you  possibly  can,  to  me,  by  some  safe  hand.  Being  a 
member  of  the  board,  I  wish  to  procure  it,  as  we  are  at  present 
on  the  look  out  for  apian  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  wishes 
of  the  citizens,  to  erect  fortifications,  without  delay,  at  the 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Utica. 


594  LIFE     OF     STEUJ1EN. 

Narrows,  relying  on  government  for  future  reimbursements, 
as  their  commissioners  have  not  thought  it  proper,  or,  rather, 
within  the  scopo  of  their  instructions,  to  expend  at  present  any 
money  to  fortify  that  point.  Many  inducements  make  me 
anxious  to  have  this  plan,  and,  notwithstanding  the  importance 
of  the  object  it  was  intended  to  effect,  I  confess  one  of  my 
leading  motives  is  to  prevent  any  person  from  bearing  the 
credit  of  what  is  due  to  our  friend." 

But  to  return  to  Steuben.  By  his  plan  he  had  touched  a 
subject  which  very  soon  assumed  practical  importance,  since, 
in  consequence  of  sundry  violations  of  the  treaty  of  peace  of 
1788,  the  outbreak  of  a  war  between  the  United  States  and 
England  was  thought  to  be  inevitable. 

The  Legislature  of  New  York,  by  a  law  of  the  26th  of 
March,  1794,  ordered  that  fortifications  should  be  repaired  or 
erected,  at  or  near  the  city  and  port"  of  New  York,  sufficient 
to  put  the  said  city  and  port  in  a  proper  state  of  defense.  It 
appointed  at  the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  law,  seven  gentle- 
men, viz.,  Frederick  William  De  Steuben,  Peter  Gansevoort, 
jr.,  William  North,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  John  Taylor, 
John  Verner,  and  Daniel  Hale,  as  commissioners  for  the  pur- 
pose of  erecting  such  fortifications,  building  and  equipping 
one  or  more  floating  batteries,  or  other  vessels  of  force  as  to 
them  should  appear  necessary  to  the  security  of  the  western 
and  northern  frontiers  of  this  State. 

As  the  treaty  which  John  Jay  concluded  with  England 
prevented  a  war,  this  law  became  a  dead  letter.  There  pre- 
vailed, however,  a  general  excitement  in  the  spring  of  1794, 
and  so  enthusiastic  was  the  public  spirit  in  the  anticipation  of 
war  with  England,  that  the  citizens  of  New  York,  almost  as  a 
body,  volunteered  to  assist  in  the  erection  of  fortifications  in 
the  neighborhood  of  their  city.  The  German  Society,  for  in- 
stance, over  which  Steuben  presided,  passed,  on  the  21st  of 
May,  1794,  a  resolution  that  all  its  members,  and  all  the  Ger- 
man inhabitants  of  New  York  in  general,  if  it  were  desired, 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  505 

should  work  for  a  day  at  the  forts  which  had  just  been  com- 
menced on  Governor's  Island.  They  assembled,  accordingly, 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  June,  1794,  at  the  Luther- 
an school-house  in  Nassau  street,  and,  led  by  their  president, 
proceeded,  with  flying  colors  and  music,  through  Broadway, 
down  Whitehall,  to  Governor's  Island,  where  the  mayor  of 
the  city  alloted  to  them  their  places,  and  where  they  worked 
until  sunset. 

A  few  days  after  Steuben  left  the  city  for  his  estate  in 
Oneida  county,  and  remained  at  Albany  to  attend  the  first 
meeting  of  the  commissioners.  He  was  appointed  president, 
and  John  W.  Mulligan  was  chosen  secretary.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  at  Steuben  he  proceeded  on  his  tour  to  explore  the 
western  territory  as  far  as  Fort  Oswego,  including  Fort  Stan- 
wix,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  summer  in  fulfilling  his 
duty. 

Steuben,  North,  and  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  passed  down 
Wood  creek  from  old  Fort  Stanwix,  crossed  the  Oneida  lake 
up  Seneca  river,  thence  into  Onondaga  lake  to  Salt  Point. 
There  were  several  hundred  Indians  assembled  in  council, 
some  friendly,  and  others  manifested  a  hostile  spirit  toward 
the  United  States.  The  commissioners  stationed  a  strong 
guard  around  the  house  in  which  they  held  their  consultations, 
and  after  they  had  concluded  them  they  obtained  information 
that  the  hostile  Canadian  Indians  had  assembled  in  great  num- 
bers at  the  mouth  oi  Oswego  river  for  the  purpose  of  making 
Steuben  a  prisoner  and  carrying  him  to  Fort  Oswego,  then 
held  by  the  British.  Steuben,  aware  of  this  ambuscade,  went 
by  land  to  Fort  Stanwix.  When  the  boat  containing  L.  Hough, 
the  servant,  and  the  baggage,  entered  Onondaga  lake,  some  two 
or  three  bateaux,  loaded  with  Indians,  armed  and  equipped, 
inquired  of  him  where  Steuben  had  gone.  They  seemed  to 
be  much  surprised  at  Hough's  answer,  and  surrounded  his 
boat.  Hough  and  his  party  expected  to  have  to  fight,  and 
that  they  would  be  seized   and   carried  to  the  fort.     It  ap- 


59G  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

peared,  however,  that  Steuben  was  the  only  object  of  their 
search,  and  they  Buffered  them  to  pass. 

It  was  the  last  service  he  rendered  to  his  adopted  country. 

He  did  not  reach  his  farm  until  the  end  of  August.  The 
idea  of  cultivating  his  lands,  of  which  about  sixty  acres  were 
then  cleared,  and  of  erecting  a  line  mansion  on  it,  had  been  a 
favorite  plan  of  Steuben  since  he  began  to  enjoy  his  annuity, 
and  to  feel  easier  in  his  money  affairs.  At  that  time  some  six- 
teen families  resided  on  his  patent,  who  had  durable  leases  at 
from  $10  to  $20  for  every  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  was 
fond  of  talking  about  his  farming  prospects,  about  the  artifi- 
cial lake,  which  he  proposed  to  make  by  using  the  water  of 
two  fine  brooks  that  flowed  through  his  land  ;  about  the  fine 
quality  and  situation  of  his  land  and  its  settlement.  On  his 
little  mare  Molly  he  rode  through  the  fields,  watched  the  im- 
provements, and  gave  directions.  In  the  evening  he  saw  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  played  chess  with  his  companions,  read 
newspapers  or  spoke  of  the  politics  of  the  day,  which  just  at 
this  time,  when  the  French  Revolution  had  reached  its  culmi- 
nating point,  and  when  the  revolutionary  armies  fought  victo- 
riously against  Prussia  and  Austria,  were  particularly  inter- 
esting. Steuben  subscribed  to  the  Leyden  (Holland)  Gazette, 
a  weekly  newspaper  which,  at  that  period,  held  the  rank  of 
the  present  Galignani's  Messenger,  and  gave  the  best  and 
quickest  information  about  the  events  of  the  day.  He  fol- 
lowed with  special  attention  the  movements  of  the  contend- 
ing armies  and  the  military  operations  in  general ;  but  it  often 
occurred  to  him  that,  taking  the  standard  of  his  American  mi- 
litia, he  underrated  the  popular  strength  and  overrated  the 
power  of  the  allies,  whom  he  knew  only  from  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  when  their  armies  were  led  by  great  commanders  and 
animated  with  energy  and  enthusiasm.  Thus,  in  1792,  he 
could  not  understand,  and  was  shocked  at  the  retreat  of  the 
Prussians  through  Champagne.  "It  is  impossible,"  said  he, 
when  he  first  heard  the  news :  "  I  never  saw  the  Prussian  cables 


LIFE      OF     STEUBEN.  597 

give  way ;  it  is  a  lie  on  the  part  of  the  French ;"  and  when 
afterward  the  intelligence  was  confirmed,  he  persisted  in  his 
belief  that  a  diplomatic  intrigue  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  Prus- 
sian backward  movement.  "I  must  ask  Prince  Henry,"  said 
he,  "  about  the  secret  reasons  of  this  strange  conduct.', 

During  the  fine  season  he  had  many  visitors,  travelers  from 
Europe  and  others,  to  whom  he  tendered  the  hospitalities  of 
his  house. 

The  French  Revolution  was  of  course  the  most  prominent 
subject  of  their  conversation.  Once  when  the  abolition  of 
all  titles  of  nobility  in  France  was  mentioned  by  one  of  the 
company,  and  when  Steuben  was  asked  to  give  up  his  title, 
and  call  himself  citizen  Steuben,  he  replied,  jokingly,  that 
even  were  he  to  do  so,  the  title  would  never  die,  as  all  the 
children  who  had  been  or  would  be  christened,  "  Baron  Steu- 
ben," would  perpetuate  it.  Old  companions  in  arms  used  to 
call  on  him,  and  his  neighbors  came  frequently  to  spend  the 
evenings  with  him,  or  be  went  to  see  them.  "Ah!"  said  an 
old  man,  who  had  been  a  captain,  and  afterwards  kept  a  public 
house  near  Utica,  "how  glad  I  am  to  see  you,  baron,  in  my 
house ;  but  I  used  to  be  dreadfully  afraid  of  you  !"  "  How  so, 
captain?"  "You  hallooed  and  swore,  and  looked  so  dread- 
fully at  me  once,  baron,  that  I  shall  never  forget  it.  When  I 
saw  you  so  strict  to  the  officers  on  my  right,  I  felt  very  queer; 
and  when  you  came  up  to  me,  baron,  I  hardly  knew  what  to 
do,  and  I  quaked  in  my  shoes."  "O  fi  dond,  captain  !"  "It 
was  bad,  to  be  sure,"  said  he;  "but  you  did  halloo  most  tre- 
mendously !"  Notwithstanding  the  bodily  fear  the  captain 
had  been  put  in,  his  look  and  actions  showed  that  there  was 
not  a  man  on  earth  whom  he  would  have  been  more  rejoiced 
to  see  at  his  table. 

In  the  conversations  he  had  with  his  friends  about  military 
matters,  Steuben  once  criticised  the  genius  of  the  people  of 
the  different  States  for  warfare,  saying,  "  Of  all  the  Amer- 
icans the  Yankees  are,  in  my  opinion,  the  best  soldiers ;  they 


598  LIFE      OF      STEUItEN. 

are  the  most  intelligent,  and  in  some  respects,  the  best  troops 
in  the  world.  But  they  always  want  to  know  the  reasons  for 
the  orders  given  them  by  their  superiors,  and  are  too  fond  of 
improving  upon  the  plans  of  the  latter." 

Of  his  neighbors,  Mappa  was  one  of  his  favorite  guests. 
He  was  s  Dutchman,  and  president  of  the  Holland  Genesee 
Land  Company.  He  had  left  Holland  in  consequence  of  the 
late  movements  against  the  Stadtholder,  and  being  a  repub- 
lican in  feeling  and  sentiments,  after  the  defeat  of  the  republi- 
can party,  sought  a  refuge  in  the  United  States,  to  which  he 
did  great  service  by  introducing  a  great  many  industrious  and 
sober  Dutch  and  German  emigrants  upon  the  lands  of  the 
Holland  Company.  Steuben  liked  him  very  much,  and  they 
met  as  often  as  their  business  would  permit. 

An  old  seaman,  of  the  name  of  Simeon  Woodruff,  who  had 
circumnavigated  the  world  with  Captain  Cook,  had  bought  a 
piece  of  land  from  Steuben.  On  a  certain  occasion,  while  on  one 
of  his  annual  winter  visits  to  the  city  of  New  York,  some  of  his 
friends  rather  jeered  him  for  attempting  to  settle  the  mount- 
ains up  at  the  head  of  the  Mohawk.  Steuben  was  a  little  net- 
tled, and  at  once  retorted,  "  that  it  was  the  best  land  in  the 
world,  and  he  could  prove  it."  The  proof  was  challenged, 
and  it  was  at  once  given  as  follows  :  "  Why,  there  is  Captain 
Simeon  Woodruff,  who  has  sailed  around  the  globe  with  Cap- 
tain Cook;  and  he  has  bought  a  farm  on  my  patent  and  set- 
tled on  it,  and  sure,  if  in  all  his  voyages  a  better  location  had 
been  found,  he  would  not  have  done  so."  The  argument  was 
deemed  conclusive.* 

Thus  the  summer  and  fall  passed  in  agreeable  and  social 
intercourse.  When  the  evenings  became  longer,  Steuben  em- 
ployed them  in  conversing  wTith  his  young  friend  Mulligan,  in 
playing  chess,  or  in  having  Gibbon's  Roman  History,  or  Vol- 
taire, or  some  of  his  French  historical  or  literary  works  read 
aloud.  But  as  winter  set  in  very  early  that  year — as  early  as 
*  P.  Jones'  Annals  of  Oneida  county,  p.  445. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  599 

November,  a  deep  snow  fell — Steuben  made  all  the  necessary 
preparations  to  return  to  New  York. 

He  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health  and  the  best 
humor  when,  on  the  25th  of  November,  after  passing  his  even- 
ing as  usual,  he  retired  at  about  eleven  o'clock.  Except  Mul- 
ligan and  his  two  servants,  he  was  alone.  Colonel  North  had 
left  the  farm,  a  few  weeks  previous,  for  Duanesburg.  Mulligan 
slept  in  the  adjoining  house.  This  was  built  on  the  top  of  the 
hill,  north  of  the  sixty  acres,  which  Steuben  had  selected  for  the 
site  of  the  building  which  he  intended  to  erect  as  his  country 
mansion.  It  consisted  of  two  apartments,  a  kitchen  and  an 
adjoining  bed-room  ;  and  above  was  a  garret  occupied  by  the 
servants.  During  the  summer  of  1794,  however,  at  the  east 
end  of  the  log  house  he  had  built  a  small  frame  house,  consist- 
ing of  a  sitting-room  and  bed-room  adjoining ;  there  was  no 
access  from  the  other  but  by  going  out  of  doors.  Steuben  slept 
in  the  new  house,  while  his  companion  had  his  bed-room  in  the 
adjoining  log  house.  Early  in  the  morning  of  November  26th, 
at  about  four  o'clock,  William,  Steuben's  German  servant,  woke 
Mulligan,  and  told  him  that  the  baron  was  paralyzed  and  dy- 
ing. Mulligan  at  once  ran  through  the  snow  to  his  room,  and 
found  him  in  agony.  Steuben  appeared  to  have  suffered  much, 
and  could  only  articulate  a  few  words,  "  Do  n't  be  alarmed, 
my  son,"  which  were  his  last.  Mulligan  sent  for  Steuben's 
overseer,  who  lived  half  a  mile  off.  When  he  came,  Mulligan 
sent  him  immediately  for  a  physician.  The  nearest  doctor 
was  at  Whitestown,  eighteen  miles  distant  from  Steuben's 
farm.  Mulligan  directed  the  overseer  at  the  same  time  to 
call  on  his  way  at  Mr.  Mappa's,  at  Boonesville,  who  would  have 
been  of  great  service  in  this  emergency,  as  he  was  a  very  ex- 
perienced man  ;  but  unfortunately  Mappa  was  not  at  home. 
Thence  the  overseer  had  to  go  to  Duanesburg,  in  order  to 
inform  Colonel  North  of  what  had  happened.  Steuben  re- 
mained apparently  sensible  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day, 
although  he  was  often  in  convulsions.     That  night  he  was  very 


600  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

quiet,  though  the  fits  sometimes  returned.  Every  possible  re- 
lief which  his  situation  afforded,  was  procured  to  give  him  ease, 
until  the  arrival  of  the  doctor,  on  Thursday,  the  27th  of  No- 
vember, at  two  o'clock,  p.  m.  He  administered  medicines 
which  gave  some  relief,  but  it  was  only  temporary.  The 
stroke  was  too  violent ;  the  case  was  hopeless.  Steuben  did 
not  show  any  signs  of  consciousness,  and  died  on  Friday,  the 
28th  of  November,  at  half  past  twelve  o'clock,  p.  m.}  without 
any  struggle  or  visible  pain. 

Colonel  North  came  too  late  to  see  his  old  friend  alive. 
On  account  of  the  long  distance  and  the  bad  condition  of  the 
roads,  he  only  reached  the  firm  the  day  after  Steuben's  death. 
He  approved  of  the  preparations  which  Mulligan  had  made  for 
the  funeral.  Steuben  himself  had  often  expressed,  in  the  cir- 
cle of  his  friends,  that  he  wished  no  parade  over  his  remains, 
and  would  designate  the  retired  spot  where,  wrapped  id  his 
military  cloak,  he  wished  to  be  buried.  The  only  remark, 
however,  that  could  be  recollected,  that  had  any  bearing  on 
the  subject,  was  that  he  was  once  heard  to  say  that  under  a 
certain  hemlock,  north  of  his  residence,  would  be  a  good  place 
to  be  buried,  without,  however,  expressing  any  wish  as  to  his 
own  remains.  In  the  absence  of  any  other  expressed  wish, 
that  place  was  selected  by  North  and  Mulligan,  and  his  re- 
mains there  interred.  It  was  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  north 
of  the  house,  on  a  hill  in  the  midst  of  a  wood.  They  had  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  getting  the  grave  dug,  as  the  melting  snow 
penetrated  the  soil  and  the  last  resting  place  of  the  old  soldier. 
Agreeably  to  his  directions,  Steuben  was  buried  about  noon, 
on  the  30th  of  November,  1794.  His  neighbors,  about  thirty 
in  number,  hastened  to  the  farm  to  pay  their  last  respects 
to  their  beloved  old  townsman.  It  was  a  simple  and  modest 
cortege  which,  on  a  shivering,  winter  day,  accompanied  his 
remains  to  the  grave.  No  mourning  parade  or  music  was 
there  ;  no  crape-covered  eagles  or  colors  were  to  be  seen  ; 
no  cannon  iired  a  military  salute ;   no  word  was  spoken  ;    no 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  601 

funeral  oration  delivered.  Some  handfuls  of  earth,  and  the 
tears  of  a  few  manly  and  sincere  friends,  were  the  last  tribute 
paid  to  the  citizen  soldier,  who,  having  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  attainment  of  American  independence,  now  found 
lasting  repose  in  the  unbroken  stillness  of  her  primeval  for- 
ests. 

What  a  contrast  between  him  and  his  brethren  in  arms, 
who  had  commenced  their  military  life  at  the  same  time,  and 
fought  together  on  the  battle  fields  of  Prague  and  Kuners- 
dorf,  and,  like  Gaudy  and  others,  had  risen,  after  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  Prussian  army !  Each 
of  them  commanded  as  many  troops  as  all  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  combined.  The  command  of  each  was  absolute 
as  regards  his  inferiors,  and  at  their  funeral  royalty  displayed 
all  its  splendor  and  brilliancy,  nominally  to  do  honor  to  the 
departed  general,  but  in  fact  to  make  a  boastful  manifestation 
of  its  strength  and  power.  With  the  last  salute,  however,  that 
roared  over  their  grave,  they  are  forgotten ;  the  glory  and 
enjoyment  of  their  deeds  belong  to  the  crown  under  which 
they  served  ;  their  name  is  merely  mentioned  in  the  works  of 
some  local  historians.     Sic  transit  gloria  mitndi  ! 

From  the  foregoing  comparison  between  Steuben  in  the 
new,  and  those  of  the  same  school  of  war  in  the  old  world,  it 
will  be  obvious  that  Steuben  was  more  fortunate  than  they. 
In  spite  of  all  the  hardships  he  had  endured,  of  all  the  diffi- 
culties he  had  encountered,  of  all  the  ingratitude  he  had  met 
with,  he  had,  nevertheless,  chosen  the  better  part.  By  draw- 
ing his  sword  for  the  liberty  of  a  continent,  he  connected  him- 
self with  one  of  the  greatest  events  of  modern  history.  His 
name  will  never  die  so  long  as  the  memory  of  the  American 
Revolution  lives.  It  will  be  handed  down  to  the  remotest 
ages,  and  how  insignificant  are  all  troubles  and  sorrows,  how 
trifling  all  privations  and  disappointments  in  comparison  with 
the  undying  fame  he  won  in  the  annals  of  the  new  world ! 

The   place  where    Steuben  was   first    buried  was,  in   the 
26 


002  LIFE     OF      STEUBEN. 

beginning  of  the  century,  included  in  the  limits  of  a  public 
highway.  Neither  the  State  or  the  nation  moved  in  the 
matter  when  the  remains  of  her  adopted  son  were  thus  dis- 
honored. The  ashes  of  the  man  wrho,  after  a  stirring  and 
eventful  life,  had  well  deserved  the  rest  of  the  grave,  had  to 
give  way  to  the  wrants  of  a  few  farmers.  There  even  was  no 
sacrifice  required,  no  money  to  be  spent,  if  the  road  had  been 
made  a  little  to  the  right  or  left  of  its  present  direction,  for 
the  land  is  of  no  great  value  in  that  neighborhood.  But  the 
citizens  of  the  county  which  Steuben  had  honored  as  his 
residence,  scarcely  knew  him ;  they  did  not  pay  the  slightest 
regard  to  common  decency,  and  thus  the  petty  interests  of 
the  living  farmers  prevailed  over  the  claims  of  the  deceased 
hero  to  a  quiet  resting  place.  The  road  cut  off  about  one- 
third  of  the  grave,  but  no  one  thought  of  removing  the  re- 
mains. As  if  Indians  had  dug  up  the  place,  for  a  while  the 
coffin  was  exposed  to  storm  and  rain,  and  a  very  credible  eye- 
witness relates  that  it  had  once  been  opened  by  the  neighbors, 
who  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  getting  a  piece  of 
Steuben's  old  military  cloak.  When  Benjamin  Walker  heard 
of  this  sacrilegious  violation  of  the  sacred  remains  of  .his  old 
friend,  he  caused  them  to  be  removed  to  a  more  suitable  rest- 
ing place.  He  gave  one  of  the  Welsh  Baptist  societies  in  the 
vicinity  a  lease  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  of  which  the  five  acres  of 
wood-land  were  a  part,  the  only  rent  and  consideration  to  be 
paid  for  which  is  the  keeping  said  five  acres  substantially  fenced 
for  ever,  uncleared,  and  no  cattle  or  other  animals  suffered  to  go 
within  its  bounds,  and  the  title  to  be  void  whenever  the  lessees 
shall  fail  in  the  performance  of  these  stipulations.  Up  to  the 
present  time  the  society  has  sacredly  kept  its  trust,  the  forest 
having  the  most  primeval  appearance,  and  the  little  tiny  sap- 
lings, as  well  as  the  largest  beech  and  maple  trees,  show  that 
the  woodman's  ax  has  not  penetrated  this  quiet  spot.* 

*  Annals  and  Recollections  of  Oneida  county,  by  P.  Jones,  1851,  p. 
•115 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  603 

When,  in  1824,  Lafayette  visited  the  United  States,  the 
inhabitants  of  Oneida  county  collected  money  for  erecting  a 
monument  over  Steuben's  grave.  They  invited  Lafayette  to 
inaugurate  the  monument,  but  he  refused  to  accede  to  their 
request,  excusing  himself  under  some  shallow  pretext.  The 
good  citizens  of  that  county  knew  very  well  that  Steuben  and 
Lafayette  had  been  brothers  in  arms  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  but  they  did  not  know  that  they  had  not  been  on  good 
terms,  and  therefore  could  not  imagine  that  Lafayette,  even 
thirty  years  after  Steuben's  death,  had  not  yet  forgotten  the 
differences  which  ought  to  have  been  buried  with  Steuben. 
The  simple  grave-stone  was  therefore  laid  without  Lafayette's 
presence. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1857,  we  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
old  soldier's  grave.  In  Remsen  we  visited  Steuben's  last  sur- 
viving servant,  Lemuel  Hough,  who  very  minutely  described 
the  way  to  the  place.  The  country  through  which  we  passed 
is  mountainous.  Our  road  led  over  hills,  through  valleys  and 
fine  timber  land,  fresh  with  the  verdure  of  spring.  The 
scenery  was  generally  monotonous  and  entirely  removed  from 
the  bustle  and  tumult  of  the  world.  The  last  rough  house 
which  we  passed  was  a  school-house.  Stout  and  healthy  boys 
came  out  to  meet  us,  evidently  surprised  at  seeing  strange- 
looking  faces  in  this  wilderness.  The  pretty  young  girl,  how- 
ever, that  kept  the  school,  knew  nothing  of  Steuben's  grave. 
An  old  man  finally  directed  us.  "  In  that  thick  wood,"  said 
he,  "you  will  find  the  grave,"  pointing  eastward  with  his 
hand.  We  fastened  our  horses,  and  climbing  over  fences, 
jumping  over  ditches,  and  wading  through  underbrush,  we 
finally  reached  the  spot.  There,  on  the  slope  of  a  little  hill, 
at  the  foot  of  which  a  small,  limpid  brook  runs,  the  remains 
of  Steuben  quietly  repose.  A  column  of  stones,  two  or  three 
feet  in  height,  at  each  corner  of  the  grave,  upon  which  form- 
erly rested  a  table  of  limestone,  compose  his  simple  monu- 
ment.    It  is  now  becoming  more  and  more  dilapidated,  and 


604  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

the  foundation  having  given  way,  nothing  remains  but  the 
tablet  and  a  pile  of  stones,  which  originally  supported  it. 
The  tablet  is  about  eight  feet  by  four,  and  nearly  a  foot  in 
thickness,  and  if  kept  in  its  place  will  withstand  the  ravages 
of  centuries,  but  if  not  speedily  repaired  will  fall  to  pieces 
from  the  influence  of  the  weather.     It  bears  the  inscription: 

MAJOR     GENERAL 

FREDERICK   WILLIAM   AUGUSTUS 
BARON   DE    STEUBEN. 

It  was  a  good  and  poetical  idea  of  Walker,  to  have  se- 
lected this  quiet  spot  for  the  resting  place  of  his  friend.  The 
tall  beech  trees,  under  whose  shade  he  loved  to  sit  in  the  even- 
ing of  his  life,  extend  their  wide-spread  arms  over  the  grave 
and  keep  watch  over  the  old  hero.  Fragrant  flowers,  with 
double  vigor  rising  from  the  moldering  vegetation,  form  a 
lovely  wreath  around  the  tomb.  All  dispute  and  trouble,  all 
hatred  and  envy  of  daily  life,  are  shut  out  from  this  hallowed 
spot,  which,  in  its  simplicity  and  seclusion,  presents  a  strong 
contrast  with  the  stirring  and  prominent  career  of  him  whose 
ashes  it  contains. 

Colonel  William  North  caused  a  neat  mural  monument  to 
be  erected  to  Steuben's  memory  upon  the  walls  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  Church,  then  under  the  charge  of  John  D. 
Gross,  and  situated  in  Nassau  street,  between  John  street  and 
Maiden  Lane,  in  New  York  city.  When  a  Baptist  society  sub- 
sequently got  possession  of  that  church,  they  courteously  al- 
lowed the  monument  to  be  taken  down,  and  carried  to  the  new 
church  of  the  Germans  in  Forsyth  street.  There  we  found 
it,  on  the  right  of  the  pulpit,  well  preserved  and  fastened 
into  the  wall.  Lossing  says  that  when  visiting  that  church, 
he  saw  the  monument  in  separate  pieces  lying  amongst  rub- 
bish, in  a  small  lumber  room  of  the  church,  disfigured  and 
mutilated.  On  inquiring  wo  were  informed  that  the  monu- 
ment was  kept  in  this  condition  on  account  of  a  lawsuit  which 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  005 

then  was  pending  with  regard  to  the  property  of  the  congre- 
gation in  their  church.  But  after  that  suit  had  been  decided 
in  favor  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  the  first  care  of  its 
minister,  Mr.  Abraham  Berky,  was  to  put  North's  monument 
in  its  proper  place,  and  it  is  due  to  the  exertions  of  this  gentle- 
man that  the  city  of  New  York  can  boast  of  this  valuable  his- 
torical monument.  The  slab,  of  obelisk  form,  and  the  square 
frame,  are  of  blueish,  clouded  marble.  The  lower  urn  has  upon 
it  a  representation  of  the  Order  of  Fidelity.  The  following  is 
the  inscription,  from  the  pen  of  Colonel  North : 

SACRED   TO   THE   MEMORY   OF 

FREDERICK  WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS  BARON  STEUBEN, 

A  GERMAN;  KNIGHT   OP   THE   ORDER  OF   FIDELITY ; 

AID-DE-CAMP   TO   FREDERICK  THE   GREAT,    KING   OF   PRUSSIA; 

MAJOR   GENERAL   AND   INSPECTOR   GENERAL 

IN   THE    REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 

Esteemed,  respected  and  supported  by  "Washington, 

He  gave  military  skill  and  discipline 

To  the  citizen  soldiers,  who, 

Fulfilling  the  decrees  of  Heaven, 

Achieved  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

The  highly  polished  manners  of  the  baron  were  graced 

By  the  most  noble  feelings  of  the  heart. 

His  hand,  open  as  day  to  melting  charity, 

Closed  only  in  the  grasp  of  death. 

****** 

This  memorial  is  inscribed  by  an  American  who  had  the  honor  to  be  his 
aid-de-camp,  the  happiness  to  be  his  friend. 

Obiit,  1795. 

In  December,  1856,  the  St.  Charles  Democrat,  of  Missouri, 
a  German  country  paper,  published  an  appeal  from  Mr.  The- 
odore Bruere  to  the  Germans  in  the  United  States,  for  the 
erection  of  a  monument  in  honor  of  Steuben.  This  appeal 
went  the  round  of  the  Americo-German  press,  and  caused  a 
general  manifestation  of  the  appreciation  in  which  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  United  States  hold  Steuben's  memory.     In  conse- 


606  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

quence  of  that  address  committees  were  appointed  at  several 
places  to  raise  funds  for  a  monument.  Concerts  and  theatri- 
cal representations  were  given  for  the  same  purpose,  and  the 
German  "Turner"  and  militia  companies  especially  seemed 
to  take  a  great  interest  in  the  realization  of  the  plan.  But 
whether  it  was  that  the  wealthier  Germans  did  not  participate 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  their  fellow-countrymen,  or  that  the  man- 
agement was  not  confided  to  proper  hands,  the  whole  matter 
was  gradually  dropped,  and  although  there  are  some  five  or 
six  thousand  dollars  collected,  there  is  no  present  appearance 
that  the  project  will  ever  be  carried  out.  This  pious  duty, 
however,  which  the  Germans  feel  that  they  are  bound  to 
perform,  is  not  confined  to  them  alone.  It  is  an  obligation 
devolving  as  well  on  Americans  as  on  Germans.  Steuben's 
tomb  ought  at  all  events  to  be  renovated  and  kept  in  order. 
A  few  hundred  dollars  would  suffice  to  reconstruct  the  mason  • 
work,  and  put  an  iron  fence  around  the  grave. 


CHAPTER     XXIX. 

Steuben  and  his  Aides-de-Camp  and  Sub-Inspectors.— Their  friendly  Inter- 
course.— Their  Names. — Biographical  Sketches  and  Letters  of  Peter  S.  Dupon- 
ceau,  William  "Walker,  John  Ternant,  Louis  Fleury,  "William  North,  James 
Fairlie,  Nicholas  Fish,  and  "William  S.  Smith. 

IT  would  be  injustice  to  the  meritorious  and  brave  officers 
who  composed  Steuben's  suite,  not  to  dedicate  a  chapter 
to  them,  and  describe,  as  fully  as  possible,  considering  the 
scarcity  of  direct  information,  their  noble  deeds,  and  the  share 
they  took  in  the  happy  results  which  crowned  their  general's 
efforts.  The  records  of  the  revolutionary  war  are  remarkably 
poor  in  details  about  the  men  who  occupied  secondary  posi- 
tions during  that  eventful  period.  It  appears  that  its  histo- 
rians considered  it  as  a  more  grateful  task  to  write  the  lives 
of  the  most  prominent  actors,  and  that,  therefore,  the  names 
of  the  "  del  minorum  gentium"  are  either  forgotten  or  only 
cursorily  mentioned.  Yet,  nevertheless,  we  can  not  duly  ap- 
preciate the  character  of  the  time  and  of  its  leaders,  unless  we 
have  a  knowledge  of  the  strata  of  the  people  and  of  the  agents 
without  whose  active  participation  no  great  movement  can 
successfully  be  carried  through.  The  time,  however,  we  trust, 
is  not  very  distant  when  these  considerations  will  more  gener- 
ally prevail,  and  when  the  present  deficiency  will  be  supplied. 
We  may  safely  say,  that  there  scarcely  existed  a  more  in- 
timate and  friendly  relation  among  officers  than  that  between 
Steuben  and  his  aides-de-camp  and  sub-inspectors.  It  not  only 
comprised  their  duties  in  the  field  and  camp,  but  extended 
to  all  their  intercourse.  Steuben  was  their  friend,  adviser, 
and  father,  in  one  person.     He  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to 


G08  LIFE      OF      STEUB  8  N  . 

them,  and  provided  for  all  their  wants,  while  they  did  not 
take  a  step  in  their  private  affairs  without  consulting  him. 
From  Philadelphia  he  sent  to  his  favorite  aid-de-camp,  B. 
Walker,  linen  and  cloth  to  enable  him  to  visit  Washington's 
head-quarters.  To  the  sick  North,  when  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  him  behind  in  Virginia,  he  presented  his  watch  and  his 
last  gold  piece,  and  regretted  that  he  could  do  nothing  else 
for  him.  For  Duponceau  he  bought  a  new  uniform  and  a  few 
pounds  of  tobacco,  as  a  small  token  of  kindly  consideration. 
He  had  friendly  nicknames  for  all  of  them,  as,  for  instance, 
"  Le  Petit  Walker,  et  sa  grande  femme,"  "  Le  paresseux 
North,"  and  the  "Parson  Adams"  (Duponceau),  which  he 
used  when  he  wanted  them  to  be  particularly  active.  When 
absent,  Walker  or  North  was  bound  to  report  to  him  every 
thing  that  had  happened  in  their  small  family,  and  Steuben 
himself  minutely  described,  in  half-broken  English  and  half 
French,  the  adventures  which  he  had  met  with  during  his  ab- 
sence. In  case  of  dispute  or  controversy  among  them,  Steuben 
was  the  arbiter,  and  his  sentence  was  strictly  obeyed.  There 
were,  perhaps,  few  men  who  understood  so  well  as  Steuben 
how  to  criticise  and  blame  politely  his  inferiors,  and  whose 
orders,  as  far  as  his  officers  were  concerned,  were  so  promptly 
and  cheerfully  executed.  Had  we  lost  all  information  relating 
to  Steuben's  military  merit,  and  were  all  his  deeds  forgotten, 
the  mere  existence  of  letters  from  men  like  Walker,  North, 
Davies,  Fleury,  Ternant,  De  L'Enflmt,  Fish,  and  Fairlie,  would 
demonstrate  the  invaluable  worth  of  a  general  who  was  able  to 
raise  such  talented  and  gifted  disciples. 

We  propose  to  sketch  in  this  chapter  the  most  conspicu- 
ous of  his  assistants.  Steuben,  in  one  of  his  papers,  gives  the 
number  of  them  as  twenty-one.  They  were — Majors  De  Ro- 
manai,  De  L'Enfant,  and  Des  Epiniers ;  Captains  Duponceau 
and  De  Pontiere  ;  Colonels  Walker  and  Fleury  ;  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Ternant ;  Captains  Duval  and  Fairlie  ;  Major  North  ; 
Colonel   William   S.   Smith ;    Lieutenant   Colonel   N.    Fish ; 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  609 

Colonel  Meade ;  Messrs.  Peyton  Randolph,  and  Moore  ;  Ma- 
jors Galvan,  Villefranche,  Barber,  and  Popham ;  and,  finally, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  De  La  Lanyante.  Some  of  these  officers 
were  only  for  a  short  time  in  Steuben's  suite,  as  for  instance, 
Romanai,  who  accompanied  him  to  America,  and  soon  after 
his  arrival  was  employed  in  another  department ;  De  Pontiere, 
who,  after  having  joined  the  army,  entered  Pulaski's  legion  as 
captain  of  horse ;  Des  Epiniers,  a  nephew  of  Beaumarchais 
and  son  of  the  famous  watchmaker,  Lepine,  who  had  changed 
his  name  to  Des  Epiniers,  to  give  it  an  appearance  of  nobility, 
and,  as  soon  as  December,  1778,  asking  leave  of  absence,  never 
reassumed  his  duties  on  Steuben's  staff;  or  Messrs.  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph and  Moore,  who,  for  a  short  time,  during  the  Virginia  cam- 
paign, acted  as  voluntary  aids  of  Steuben  ;  and,  finally,  Galvan, 
Villefranche,  and  De  La  Lauyaute,  who  served  as  engineers 
under  Steuben  in  the  trenches  of  Yorktown.  There  are  only 
about  a  dozen  left  who  are  deserving  a  peculiar  mention  in 
connection  with  Steuben,  and  we  shall  speak  of  them  accord- 
ing to  the  date  on  which  they  joined  his  personal  staff. 

First  of  all,  we  shall  allude  to  his  first  secretary,  Peter  S. 
Duponceau.  He  was  born  on  the  3d  of  June,  1760,  at  the 
town  of  St.  Martin,  in  the  island  of  Re,  France.  At  six  years 
his  fondness  for  languages  began  to  develop  itself.  As  there 
were  some  English  families  in  the  town,  he  learned  English 
rapidly.  At  the  college  of  the  Benedictine  monks  at  St.  John 
D'Angely  he  pursued  his  English  studies,  and  was  nicknamed 
Z? Anglais.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  Duponceau  became 
abbe  ;  but,  in  December,  1775,  he  left  his  place,  and,  with  the 
"  Paradise  Lost"  in  one  pocket  and  a  clean  shirt  in  another,  he 
took  his  way  on  foot  to  Paris,  where  he  arrived  with  the  firm 
resolution  to  depend,  from  that  moment,  on  his  own  exertions 
for  his  subsistence.  In  the  circles  of  the  French  aristocracy 
the  Anglomania  then  prevailed.  Duponceau  wrote  an  En- 
glish and  French  vocabulary  relating  to  the  chase  and  racing, 
with  dialogues,  for  the  use  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  (Egalite)  ; 
26* 


610  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

but  when  he  modestly  hinted  to  Mr.  De  Genlis  something 
about  reward,  he  got  the  cool  but  characteristic  reply,  "  Les 
princes  ne  donnent  rienP  He,  accordingly,  had  enough  of 
ministers  and  courtiers,  and  turned  to  men  of  letters,  where 
his  knowledge  of  the  English  language  was  of  great  use  to 
him.  Among  the  houses  which  he  frequented  at  Paris  was 
that  of  Mr.  De  Beaumarchais.  Here,  in  17 77,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Steuben,  who  wanted  a  secretary  conversant 
with  the  English  language.  Duponceau  exactly  answered  his 
purpose,  and  consequently  accompanied  him  to  America. 

In  his  letters  which  he  wrote  in  1836  to  Robert  Walsh  and 
to  his  grand-daughter,  he  has  left  a  great  many  interesting  anec- 
dotes about  himself,  and  the  manners,  habits,  and  customs  of 
the  time.  We  insert  a  few  of  them,  trusting  that  the  whole 
valuable  manuscript  will  soon  be  printed. 

Duponceau  was  at  that  time  a  specimen  of  the  jovial  and 
amiable  young  Frenchman  who  loved  to  frolic  and  laugh  at 
other  men  and  his  own  follies.  Just  before  they  landed  at 
Portsmouth,  on  the  1st  of  December,  1777,  he  made  a  bet  that 
he  would  kiss  the  first  girl  they  met  on  shore.  His  fellow- 
passengers  laughed  at  him,  but  Duponceau  really  did  what  he 
had  promised.  He  told  a  young,  bright  girl,  whom  he  saw 
first,  that  they  had  come  over  to  fight  for  American  liberty, 
and  that  like  an  old  cavalier  he  had  made  a  vow  to  ask  a  kiss 
from  the  lady  he  first  met  on  American  soil,  as  a  blessing  for 
their  undertaking.  The  girl  so  addressed  did  not  refuse  the 
kiss,  and  Duponceau  won  his  bet. 

At  Boston  Steuben's  party  lodged  at  the  house  of  a  Mrs. 
Doane,  the  widow  of  a  British  officer,  a  respectable  lady  with 
two  beautiful  and  amiable  daughters  of  nineteen  and  sixteen 
years  of  age,  with  the  youngest  of  whom,  Sally,  Duponceau 
fell  in  love.  We  have  seen  his  diary  of  that  time ;  it  is  a  small 
insignificant  book,  but  on  each  page  written  during  that  pe- 
riod we  meet  the  name  of  Sally,  either  written  in  Gothic,  or  in 
Latin,  or  in  Greek,  or  even  in  Russian  letters.    u  I  can  remem- 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  611 

ber  but  few  epochs  of  my  life,"  says  Duponceau,  "  in  which  I 
enjoyed  so  much  happiness  as  I  did  during  the  month  that  I 
remained  in  Boston.  I  was  charmed  with  the  simplicity  of 
manners  which  at  that  time  reigned  in  this  country.  I  was 
seventeen  years  of  age  and  my  mind  was  open  to  all  pleasura- 
ble impressions.  Shall  I  say  that  the  beauty  of  the  fair  sex 
did  not  a  little  contribute  to  it  ?  I  interpreted,  it  is  true,  as 
in  duty  bound,  between  the  baron  and  the  old  lady,  and  trans- 
mitted a  few  compliments  from  him  to  the  young  ladies,  but 
I  left  my  brother  beaux  to  shift  for  themselves.  There  they 
stood  and  sat  like  Indians,  and  could  talk  only  by  signs." 

As  stated  in  chapter  V.,  Duponceau  followed  Steuben 
to  Valley  Forge  and  was  with  him  during  the  whole  of  the 
year  1778 ;  but  it  does  not  seem  that  he  was  very  efficient  in  a 
military  point  of  view.  His  short-sightedness  prevented  him 
from  playing  a  more  active  and  prominent  part  in  the  field. 
"  When  our  army  was  encamped  at  Valley  Forge,"  says  he, 
"the  commander-in-chief  ordered  a  sham  fight  to  be  exe- 
cuted by  two  divisions  of  our  troops,  one  of  which  was  under 
the  command  of  Baron  Steuben.  In  the  capacity  of  his  aid- 
de-camp  I  was  sent  to  reconnoiter,  with  orders  to  return  imme- 
diately at  full  gallop,  as  soon  as  the  enemy  should  be  in  sight. 
I  rode  on  to  the  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  I 
was  struck  with  the  sight  of  what  1  was  afterwards  informed  to 
be  some  red  petticoats  hanging  on  a  fence  to  dry,  which  I  took 
for  a  body  of  British  soldiers.  I  had  forgotten,  it  seems,  that 
the  contending  parties  were  all  Americans,  and  none  of  them 
clothed  in  scarlet  regimentals.  Full  of  my  hallucination  I  re- 
turned in  haste  to  the  camp,  with  the  news  that  the  enemy 
was  marching  upon  us.  Our  division  took  the  road  I  had 
indicated,  and  the  sight  of  the  red  petticoats  was  all  the  re- 
sult of  their  movement.  It  excited,  of  course,  a  great  deal  of 
merriment  to  my  utter  confusion  and  dismay.  The  adventure 
was  related  the  same  day,  at  head-quarters,  to  General  Wash- 
ington, in  my  presence,  but  such  was  the  conduct  of  that  ex- 


612 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 


cellcnt  man  that  I  retired  comforted,  and  my  mind  relieved 
from  the  heavy  weight  that  pressed  upon  it." 

Duponceau,  however,  did  very  valuable  service  as  trans- 
lator and   secretary  to  Steuben.     In  this  capacity  he  assisted 
him,  when  in  winter  1778-79  Steuben  prepared  his  system  of 
discipline  for  the  army,  and  so  well  did  he  perform  his  part  in 
the  task  assigned  to  him,  that  Congress  rewarded  him  with  a 
sum  of  $400  in  addition  to  his  pay.     In  spring  1779,  he  went 
with  Steuben  to  West  Point,  where  he  had  to  make  extracts 
from  the  various  returns  about  the  number  of  men,  quantity 
of  provisions,  clothing,  arms,  ammunition,  etc.,  and  to  frame 
from  them  the  general  returns  to  be  laid  before  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.    When,  in  winter  1779-80,  Steuben  was  sent 
to  Philadelphia  again  to  urge  Congress  to  adopt  more  ener- 
getic measures  for  the  army,  Duponceau  accompanied  him  as 
secretary,  and  kept  that  position  till  he  fell  sick  and  was  com- 
pelled to  go  into  the  country  for  his  recovery.     But  when  in 
fall  1780,  Steuben  passing  through  Philadelphia,  went  to  the 
southern  army,  Duponceau  asked  his  permission  to  join  his 
staff.     "  Very  well,"  said  he,  at  last,  "  you  shall  follow  me,  and 
I  hope  you  will  either  recover  your  health  or  die  an  honorable 
death."     Duponceau  shared,  for  more  than  six  months,  all  the 
privations  and  emergencies  of  his  general;  but  in  June  1781, 
he  became  again  dangerously  ill,  and  not  being  able  to  bear  the 
fatigues  of  the  campaign,  returned  to  Philadelphia.     Steuben 
had  provided  him  with  a  strong  letter  of  introduction  to  Con- 
gress, in  which  he  requested  that  body  to  employ  him  in  some 
civil  capacity,  as  his  health  did  not  permit  him  to  continue  in 
the  military  service.     That  letter  procured  him,  besides  many 
friends  in  and  out  of  Congress,  a  place  as  under  secretary  in 
the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs,  under  Robert  R.  Livingston. 
From  that  time  Duponceau  never  reentered  the  army,  but  he 
always  remained  on  very  intimate  terms  with  Steuben,  and 
acted  as  his  agent  and  reporter  from  the  seat  of  government. 
They  corresponded  occasionally,  and  their  friendship  continued 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN,  613 

till  the  general's  death.  His  last  letter,  which  we  were  able 
to  find  among  the  Steuben  papers,*  is  dated  from  Philadelphia, 
on  the  2d  of  October,  1782 : 

"There  was  never,"  says  he,  "such  a  scarcity  of  political 
or  other  matters,  as  at  present,  which  must  account  for  my 
having  been  lately  so  bad  a  correspondent.  When  any  thing 
particular  occurs  that  may  be  worth  your  knowledge,  you  may 
be  sure  that  I  shall  not  fail  to  inform  you  at  once.  I  am  very 
sorry  that  your  things  can  not  be  sent  up  to  you  immediately. 
I  would  have  taken  this  affair  upon  me,  but  not  having  re- 
ceived any  money  from  Congress  these  four  months,  I  am  left 
altogether  penniless.  Depontiere  tells  me  that  I  have  got  at 
least  money  enough  to  buy  him  a  cue-ribbon,  but  I  can  assure 
him  with  great  truth  that  I  have  not  got  enough  to  buy  one 
for  myself,  though  I  want  one  excessively. 

"There  is  such  a  scarcity  of  news  that  even  the  newspa- 
pers contain  nothing.  The  printers  have  been  obliged  to  write 
against  each  other  to  fill  up  their  gazettes,  which,  you  know,  is 
the  last  finesse  to  which  they  usually  have  recourse.  If  this  will 
not  do,  they  will  be  obliged  to  print  old  sermons,  or  to  drop 
the  trade  entirely.  No  money  and  no  credit  are  trifles  with 
the  people  of  America  ;  but  the  want  of  news  is  the  greatest 
calamity  that  can  befall  them." 

From  the  date  of  this  letter  there  does  not  occur  in  the 
records  of  his  intercourse  with  Steuben  any  thing  worthy  of 
particular  mention.  Soon  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution  had 
terminated,  Duponceau  retired  from  office,  and  became  a  prom- 
inent lawyer  at  Philadelphia.  He  died  there  on  the  1st  of 
April,  1844,  not  quite  eighty-four  years  old,  highly  respected 
and  venerated  for  his  learning,  integrity,  and  warm  attach- 
ment to  his  adopted  country.  He  was  much  distinguished  as 
a  linguist  and  philologist,  and  wrote  a  very  valuable  disquisi- 
tion upon  the  Chinese  language.    He  was  for  a  long  time  pres- 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


614  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ident  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  at  Philadelphia, 
and  was  interred  with  public  honors.* 

Benjamin  Walker,  then  captain  in  the  second  New  York 
regiment,  was  the  first  aid-de-camp  whom  Steuben,  while  at 
Valley  Forge,  on  the  25th  of  April,  1778,  took  into  his  fam- 
ily. He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  had  been  brought 
up  for  the  counting-house.  "  He  had  not  received,"  says  Du- 
ponceau,  "  a  brilliant,  but  a  solid  education  ;  he  was  master 
of  the  French  language,  and  gifted  by  nature  with  a  clear 
head  and  sound  judgment.  He  was  brave,  intelligent,  honest 
and  true.  I  enjoyed  his  friendship  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  the 
baron,  particularly,  was  much  attached  to  him.  While  I  am 
speaking  about  this  gentleman,  I  must  relate  an  anecdote, 
which  happened  while  he  was  in  the  family  of  General  Wash- 
ington. He  had  long  been  engaged  to  a  young  Quaker  lady, 
who  resided  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  whom  he  after- 
wards married.  He  once  asked  the  general  to  give  him  leave 
of  absence  for  a  few  days  to  go  and  see  her.  The  general  told 
him  that  he  could  not  at  that  time  dispense  with  his  services. 
Walker  insisted,  begged,  and  entreated,  but  all  in  vain.  'If 
I  do  n't  go,'  said  he,  (  she  will  die.'  '  O  no,'  said  Washington, 
1  women  do  not  die  for  such  trifles.'  'But,  general,  what  shall 
I  do  ?'  '  What  will  you  do  ?  why,  write  to  her  to  add  another 
leaf  to  the  book  of  sufferings.' 

"This  was  related  to  me  by  Walker  himself.  General 
Washington  had  a  great  deal  of  that  dry  humor  which  he 
knew  how  to  make  use  of  on  proper  occasions." 

We  noticed  in  chapter  VI.  the  occasion  on  which  Walker 
became  attached  to  Steuben's  staff.  He  was  afterward  one  of 
his  most  intimate  friends  and  most  effective  cooperators,  with- 
out whose  assistance  Steuben  would  scarcely  have  accomplished 
so  much.  He  superintended  all  his  correspondence  and  writ- 
ing from  1778  to  1782.     Steuben  dictated  to  him  in  French, 

*  Contributions  to  American  History,  Philadelphia,  pp.  352  and  353. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  615 

and  Walker  wrote  it  out  in  English.  Thus  almost  all  the  drafts 
of  Steuben's  reforms  and  plans  are  written  in  Walker's  neat 
hand-writing.  He  accompanied  his  general  to  all  the  inspec- 
tions and  reviews,  acted  as  translator  in  case  of  need,  and  often 
extricated  him  from  difficulties.  There  is  an  old  anecdote,  first 
narrated  by  A.  Garden,  which,  however  exaggerated  it  may- 
be, characterizes  Steuben's  dependence  on  Walker  during  the 
first  year  of  his  service  in  America.  After  having  exhausted 
his  rich  store  of  German  and  French  oaths,  he  is  said  to  have 
called  Walker  to  his  assistance,  vociferating,  "  Yiens,  Walker, 
mon  ami,  viens,  raon  bon  ami,  sacre,  God  dam  de  gaucheries  oi 
dese  badauts  je  ne  puis  plus,  I  can  curse  dem  no  more  !"  But 
be  this  as  it  may,  we  know  that  even  in  the  most  difficult  mat- 
ters Steuben  relied  chiefly  on  Walker's  sound  judgment,  and 
that  the  success  of  Steuben's  reforms  is  in  a  great  measure  due 
to  his  indefatigable  and  able  aid-de-camp.  In  the  year  1781-82, 
Walker  joined  General  Washington's  suite,  and  acted  as  his 
aid-de-camp  to  the  close  of  the  war,  which  fact  furnishes  the 
best  proof  of  his  merits  and  value.  After  the  conclusion  of 
peace  he  was  first  secretary  to  the  Governor  of  New  York, 
but  soon  after  established  himself  as  broker  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  In  1797,  when  he  was  appointed  agent  of  the  Earl  of 
Bath's  great  estate  in  western  New  York,  he  removed  to  old 
Fort  Schuyler,  the  present  city  of  Utica,  where  he  resided  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  As  a  man  of  intelligence  and  refinement 
he  was  identified  with  the  early  growth  and  progress  of  Utica. 
He  died  there  on  the  13th  of  January,  1818,  aged  sixty-five 
years,  leaving  a  natural  daughter,  who  married  a  French  col- 
onel.* 

The  private  correspondence  between  Steuben  and  Walker 
gives  an  adequate  idea  of  the  relations  which  existed  between 
them.  It  begins  in  the  winter  of  1779-80,  when  Steuben  was 
in  Philadelphia,  soliciting  Congress  to  adopt  more  energetic 
measures  in  regard  to  the  army,  and  when  Walker  discharged, 

*  Annals  and  Recollections  of  Oneida  county,  by  P.  Jones,  p.  515. 


016  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ad  interim,  the  duties  of  inspector  general.  His  official  letters 
were  always  accompanied  by  a  few  confidential  lines,  which 
show  their  mutual  friendship  and  intimacy. 

"  Fish  delivered  me  the  linen,"  writes  Walker,  on  the  3d 
of  February,  1780,  from  camp,*  "  you  were  so  kind  as  to  send, 
for  which  accept  my  thanks.  You  are  determined  to  keep  me 
your  debtor  in  every  respect.  However,  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  say  much  on  this  subject,  as  all  I  can  say  or  do  will  fall 
short  of  the  repeated  instances  of  friendship  with  which  you 
have  honored  me.  Of  this,  however,  I  can  with  confidence 
assure  you,  that  I  could  remain  easy  under  so  many  obliga- 
tions from  you  alone,  and  that  I  shall  never  be  more  happy 
than  in  an  opportunity  of  convincing  you  of  my  sincere  friend- 
ship and  high  veneration  for  you."f 

"I  inclose  a  letter  for  you  from  General  Schuyler,"  says 
he  on  another  occasion.^  "His  daughter  is  now  in  Morris- 
town.  [General  Schuyler  had  given  her  this  letter  to  Steuben, 
in  which  he  addressed  him  as  one  of  the  most  gallant  men  in 
camp,  Harrison  being  considered  by  him  as  the  other.]  I  have 
not  yet  seen  her,  though  she  acknowledges  she  came  recom- 
mended to  your  protection.  As  all  that  is  left  of  you  in  camp, 
I  should  not  have  neglected  so  fair  an  opportunity  of  supplying 
your  absence;  but  alas!  my  old  hat  and  coat  forbid  my  asso- 
ciating but  with  my  brethren  in  affliction. " 

"I  am  jjarticularly  in  want  of  you,  my  dear  Walker," 
writes  Steuben  on  the  23d  of  February,  1780,  from  Phila- 
delphia^ "Duponceau  is  sick,  and  you  know  that  my  ideas, 
although  sometimes  good,  do  not  appear  good  when  they  are 
translated  word  for  word.  I  am  in  need  of  a  translator  of  my 
ideas;  in  one  word,  I  want  a  friend  like  you.  I  shall  probably 
come  to  camp,  with  the  Chevalier  De  La  Luzerne,  within  a 
fortnight;  the  exact  time,  however,  is  not  yet  fixed.  But  as 
I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  persuade  you  to  accompany  mo  back 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ii.  f  Ibidem. 

%  Ibidem.  §  Ibidem. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  617 

to  Philadelphia,  and  as  I  flatter  myself  that  you  will  not  re- 
fuse my  request,  I  wish  you  to  be  ready.  You  will  probably 
not  abandon  me,  but  will  go  hand  in  hand  with  me.  I  shall 
send  you  your  hat  by  the  first  opportunity ;  please  inform  me 
of  your  other  wants.  As  soon  as  I  can  buy  the  cloth  I  shall 
send  you  a  uniform ;  treat  me  in  this  respect,  too,  as  your 
friend  and  agent." 

"I  want  to  see  you  here,"  continues  Steuben,  a  few  days 
later,  "  in  the  course  of  next  week.  I  board  at  Mrs.  Clark's, 
in  Front  street.  You  will  find  there  a  young  widow,  and  a 
lady  from  New  York  with  a  beautiful  waist,  a  reason  the 
more  for  you  to  hasten  your  departure.  I  expect  you  with 
the  impatience  of  a  lover  for  his  mistress,  or  to  speak  without 
figures,  with  all  the  sentiments  of  true  friendship." 

"  Accept,  my  dear  general,  my  thanks  for  your  kind  offer," 
answers  Walker  to  the  first  of  these  letters,  on  the  10th  of 
March,  1*780,*  "of  procuring  me  a  few  necessaries.  With 
respect  to  the  uniform,  I  shall  only  want  a  coat,  blue  turned 
up  and  faced  with  buff,  white  lining  and  plain  white  buttons, 
a  cockade  with  a  black  silk  cord  and  tassels,  two  or  three 
yards  of  hair  ribbon,  a  pair  of  gloves  and  a  sword  belt. 
These,  my  dear  general,  are  all  the  articles  I  stand  in  need  of, 
and  with  which  I  should  really  be  ashamed  to  trouble  you  had 
you  not  indulged  me  in  the  pleasing  thought  of  regarding  you 
hi  the  double  capacity  of  my  general  and  my  friend." 

Even  after  having  been  appointed  aid-de-camp  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, Walker  carried  on  his  correspondence  and 
intercourse  with  Steuben. 

"My  correspondence  with  the  French  ministers,"  writes 
the  latter  from  Schuylkill,  near  Philadelphia,  on  the  27th  of 
December,  1782,  f  "has  cost  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  You 
know  that  I  am  without  assistance  even  for  my  English  cor- 
respondence.    What  shall  I  do,  my  friend,  if  I  must  make  a 

*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ii. 

\  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  Sprague,  Albany. 


618  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

new  campaign  ?  I  do  not  think  that  Popham  is  anxious  to 
join  me  again ;  at  least  I  have  not  had  a  line  from  him. 
Where  may  I  find  a  Walker  ?  But  I  do  not  want  to  make 
you  too  vain,  and  in  earnest,  where  may  I  find  a  man  who  is 
able  to  conduct  my  correspondence  ?  Try  to  get  me  a  good 
assistant.  You  know  what  I  want.  I  still  expect  my  North ; 
you  know,  however,  that  his  power  does  not  consist  in  his 
pen,  and  that  he  is  as  lazy  as  he  is  amiable.  For  four  weeks 
I  have  not  got  a  line  from  him ;  please  write  to  him  and  scold 
him.  Try  at  the  same  time  to  persuade  him  that  he  joins  me 
at  least  towards  the  end  of  March.  Gibbs  told  me  that  the 
officers  of  the  army  were  about  to  write  me  a  letter  of  grati- 
tude. I  should  be  infinitely  flattered  by  it;  tell  me  the 
reason  which  has  prevented  the  execution  of  the  plan ;  I  wish 
you  a  happy  new  year.  Do  not  forget  to  present  my  respects 
to  General  and  Mrs.  Washington.  Adieu,  my  friend ;  never 
doubt  my  sincere  attachment  for  you." 

We  can  not  give  here  all  the  letters  which,  besides  the 
friendly  chat  between  Steuben  and  Walker,  are  of  a  more 
general  interest;  they  would  occupy  too  much  space.  We 
therefore  confine  ourselves  to  the  following  extracts  :'* 

"  I  have  many  thanks  to  give  you,  my  dear  general,  for 
the  pleasure  I  received  from  your  letter  of  the  27th  of  De- 
cember. I  had  been  exceedingly  anxious  to  hear  from  you, 
and  the  several  rumors  I  had  heard  only  served  to  increase 
that  anxiety.  One  told  me  that  you  lived  in  the  country, 
another  that  you  had  moved  to  the  Indian  Queen,  one  that 
your  affairs  were  likely  to  turn  out  well,  another  doubted  it. 
I  was  exceedingly  glad,  too,  to  hear  that  North  was  again 
with  you.  Your  situation  was  too  solitary,  and  wanted  his 
gayety  to  make  it  tolerable ;  but  tell  him  that  he  has  another 
friend  besides  his  general.  When  he  passed  on  to  you  he  has 
forgotten  it. 

"  We  are  here  in  the'center  of  dullness.     Head-quarters, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  019 

you  know,  was  always  the  last  place  in  the  world  for  mirth, 
and  unhappily,  there  being  only  two  of  us,  I  can  not  go  out  to 
take  my  share  of  the  little  that  is  circulating  abroad.  At 
home  the  occupations  of  each  day  are  so  much  alike  from  one 
end  of  the  month  to  the  other  that  the  life  is  really  disgusting. 
I  had  two  disciples  at  chess,  Mrs.  Washington  and  my  col- 
league, but  unhappily  one  is  thinking  too  much  of  her  home, 
and  the  other  is  making  verses  during  the  game.  Their  prog- 
gress,  therefore,  is  so  little  that  both  are  tired  of  it,  and  so  I 
have  been  obliged  to  learn  backgammon,  of  which  I  am 
equally  tired.  In  fact  I  have  only  one  resource  left  to  pre- 
vent my  dying  of  ennui,  to  seek  some  neighbors'  daughters, 
pour  passer  le  temps.  You  know,  my  dear  general,  how  much 
this  is  against  my  conscience,  and  will  judge  how  hard  I  must 
be  driven  before  I  could  bring  myself  to  seek  this  expedient 
to  amuse  myself.  I  believe  in  the  army  they  are  not  much 
more  gay  than  we  are.  It  has  always  been  regretted  that  so 
little  sociability  took  place  between  the  officers  of  the  different 
States.  An  effort  is  made  to  bring  them  more  together,  and 
a  large  room  is  building  where  they  may  assemble  every  day. 
The  general  has  said  he  would  attend  himself  and  give  out 
the  orders.  Gibbs  has  been  a  violent  opposer  of  this,  and  his 
regiment  to  this  day  has  not  assisted  in  building  it ;  it  will  be 
finished  in  about  three  weeks.  The  army  are  better  hutted 
than  they  ever  were ;  some  of  the  officers'  rooms  are  really 
very  decent." 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  Walker  sought  for  civil 
employment,  and  tried  to  get  the  place  as  secretary  to  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York.  His  prospects,  how- 
ever, were  at  first  not  brilliant.  u  I  have  no  hopes,"  writes 
he  to  Steuben,  on  the  14th  of  February,  1784,*  "of  getting 
any  thing  from  the  State  for  myself.  The  office  I  sought  will 
be  given  to  Lamb.  His  influence  with  the  common  people 
and  in  the  Assembly  are  better  claims  than  I  have.  Fish  is 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


G20  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

also  a  candidate  for  the  same  place.  I  had  the  vanity  to  sup- 
pose that,  backed  by  the  strong  recommendations  of  my  gen- 
eral, I  would  be  preferred  ;  but  these  are  foolish  ideas.  I  can 
not  serve  the  views  of  any  party,  either  with  the  people  or  in 
the  Assembly,  and  therefore  it  would  be  absurd  to  serve  me. 
I  have  not,  however,  withdrawn  my  claim — let  it  stand  !  The 
place  Smith  was  candidate  for,  is  given  to  Benson.  Had  he 
not  been  in  the  way,  young  Lewis  Morris  was  thought  to  have 
the  best  chance,  and  why?  Because  his  father  is  chief  jus- 
tice and  young  Lewis  lived  with  the  chancellor." 

Walker,  however,  finally  succeeded  and  got  the  place  which 
he  desired.  "You  will  have  heard,"  says  he,  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1784,*  in  a  letter  to  Steuben,  "that  I  am  moving  in  the 
humble  sphere  of  private  secretary.  For  this  I  am  obliged  to 
the  friendship  of  the  governor,  and  without  it  I  should  have 
been  aground.  It  is  hard,  my  dear  baron,  to  have  spent  the  best 
eight  years  of  one's  life  in  the  service  of  a  people  who  have  not 
gratitude  enough  to  pay  even  what  is  justly  due.  If  I  had 
the  sum  in  cost  owing  me  by  the  public,  I  could  place  myself 
in  an  independent  place  of  business — but  why  do  I  complain  ? 
hundreds  are  wrorse  off. 

"  When  shall  I  have  the  pleasure  to  embrace  you  ?  You 
express  a  wish  to  have  my  picture.  If  it  was  a  miniature  you 
meant,  we  have  a  miniature  painter  here  in  New  York,  as  su- 
perior to  Peale  as  light  to  darkness." 

When  Walker,  soon  afterwards,  retired  and  did  business 
in  New  York  as  a  broker,  Steuben  lived  for  a  long  while  with 
him.  They  continued  on  the  most  friendly  footing  until  Steu- 
ben's death.  Walker  visited  him  almost  every  year  on  his 
farm  and  managed  his  business.  Steuben  bequeathed  him  in 
his  will  one  half  of  his  property. 

Jean  De  Ternant,  a  French  officer,  was  in  April,  1778, 
appointed  as  one  of  Steuben's  sub-inspectors,  and  acted  under 
his  orders  in  the  main  army,  till  the  25th  of  September,  1778, 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  621 

when  he  was  made  lieutenant  colonel  and  inspector  of  the 
troops  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Taken  prisoner  at  the 
capture  of  Charleston  in  1780,  he  was  afterwards  exchanged, 
and  having  temporarily  filled  the  place  of  Colonel  Armand, 
resumed  his  duties  in  the  South.  After,  the  conclusion  of 
peace  he  returned  to  France.  Toward  the  end  of  1789,  he 
came  back  to  America  as  ambassador  of  revolutionary  France, 
and  left  again  in  1793,  when  the  Convention  sent  "citizen" 
Genet  as  his  successor.  Ternant  was  an  officer  of  decided 
ability,  of  remarkable  accomplishments,  and  as  faithful  and 
energetic  in  the  promotion  of  American  liberty  as  any  native 
officer.  His  noble  and  amiable  character  gained  him  the  affec- 
tion of  his  superiors  and  inferiors ;  he  was  on  the  most  inti- 
mate terms  with  Steuben.  We  illustrate  this  by  one  of  his 
letters,  as  space  will  not  permit  us  to  copy  here  their  entire 
correspondence. 

When,  in  consequence  of  the  jealousies  of  his  brother  offi- 
cers, Steuben,  in  July  1778,  had  gone  to  Philadelphia  to  get 
the  duties  of  his  office  defined,  Ternant  wrote  to  him  on  the 
11th  of  August,  1778,  from  Whiteplains  :* 

"I  visit  sometimes  the  camp  of  Mars  which  has  been  open 
since  the  1st  of  this  month.  Davies  and  Brooks  have  been 
nominated  by  general  orders  to  preside  over  the  exercises,  and 
it  is  under  their  auspices  that  your  former  apprentices  in  tac- 
tics cover  themselves  twice  a  day  at  least  with — dust.  I  need 
not  tell  you  that  everybody  acts  just  as  he  thinks  proper,  that 
the  uniformity  is  more  neglected  there  than  ever  before,  and 
that  for  want  of  method  the  soldiers  and  officers  are  the  more 
unmercifully  fatigued,  as  no  real  benefit  results  from  their  drill. 
I  hope  that  you  will  soon  with  your  wonted  success  resume 
the  direction  of  this  department,  to  which  you  have  already 
given  the  organization  which  it  wanted  so  much.  I  should 
also  wish  that  you  would  render  to  the  army  the  important 
service  of  putting  the  department  of  marechal  general  de  logis 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


622  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

on  a  good  footing.  Bad  order  and  confusion  are  more  pre- 
vailing there  than  in  any  other  department.  I  continue  to 
make  observations,  complaints  and  proposals ;  but  hitherto  I 
have  been  unsuccessful  and  they  even  do  not  think  of  palliat- 
ing the  evil.  I  am  ^always  disposed  to  do  good  ;  to  live,  'how- 
ever, longer  in  this  anarchy,  and  work  much  but  to  accom- 
plish little,  while  there  is  so  much  to  do  if  order  succeeded  to 
the  confusion,  I  can  not  longer  atTord,  and,  therefore,  I  am 
decided  to  ask  General  Greene,  after  his  return  from  Rhode 
Island,  either  to  put  my  department  on  a  better  footing,  or  to 
look  after  another  person  to  till  my  place. 

"The  council  of  war  in  the  case  of  General  Lee  have  finally 
finished  their  work.  I  have  read  a  part  of  his  defense  ;  it  is  the 
most  stupid  piece  of  literature  and  dialectics  that  has  ever  been 
written.  His  statements  of  facts,  as  well  as  the  observations 
and  reasoning  which  he  develops  from  them,  do  not  show  an 
eloquent  man  nor  a  good  judgment,  and  still  less  a  consum- 
mate officer.  As  to  his  refutation  of  witnesses,  it  only  con- 
sists in  bad,  would-be  witty  remarks,  unintelligible  quibbles  and 
mean  sarcasms  which  he  tries  to  make  stronger  by  declama- 
tion, so  that  nobody  is  spared. 

"Good  bye,  my  dear  general.  Be  careful  in  regard  to 
your  health.  Continue  to  enlighten  Congress  about  their  mil- 
itary constitution  and  the  establishment  of  the  inspectorship, 
and  do  not  forget  your  promise  to  retain  myself,  the  oldest  of 
your  inspectors,  for  whom  it  would  be  very  cruel  to  see  an- 
other man  reap  what  he  has  sown." 

There  are  a  number  of  Ternant's  letters  which  give  some 
very  interesting  and  new  details  about  the  condition  of  the 
southern  army,  for  which  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  Appen- 
dix, where  they  are  given  in  full. 

Louis  De  Fleury,  another  French  sub-inspector  of  Steu- 
ben's, had  served  in  the  army  since  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1777.  He  first  obtained  a  captain's  commission  from 
Congress,  and  entered  as  a  volunteer  in  a  corps  of  riflemen, 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  t>23 

in  which,  by  his  activity  and  bravery,  he  brought  himself  into 
notice.  He  next  served  as  brigade  major,  first  in  the  infantry 
and  afterwards  in  the  cavalry,  in  which  stations  he  acquired 
reputation  in  the  army.  Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1777,  he  was  sent  to  the  important  post  of  Fort  Mif- 
flin in  the  quality  of  engineer,  in  which  he  rendered  essential 
services,  and  became  equally  distinguished  for  his  intelligence 
and  valor.  In  consequence  of  his  good  conduct  on  this  and 
on  former  occasions  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieuten- 
ant colonel  in  the  army,  and  received  from  Congress  the  gift 
of  a  horse,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  sense  of  his  merit  at  the 
battle  of  Brandywine,  where  a  horse  was  shot  under  him.* 
In  the  winter  of  1778  Fleury  was  employed  in  the  camp  at 
Valley  Forge,  and  having  filled  the  office  of  aid  major  in 
France,  Steuben  proposed  to  have  him  employed  as  sub-in- 
spector, in  which  the  commander-in-chief  readily  acquiesced. f 
We  have  seen  in  chapter  VI.  that  Fleury  took  charge  of  the 
Maryland  and  Delaware  divisions  at  Wilmington.  Steuben 
could  scarcely  have  found  a  more  energetic  and  effective  as- 
sistant for  teaching  the  principles  and  practical  duties  of  his 
system  than  Fleury.  He  continued  in  his  position  until  the 
summer  of  1778,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  jealousies  of 
the  general  officers,  the  inspectorship  was  practically  annihi- 
lated. In  July,  1778,  he  wTas  employed  as  second  in  com- 
mand in  a  corps  of  light  infantry,  in  the  expedition  against 
Rhode  Island,  and  afterwards  as  commandant  of  one  of  Steu- 
ben's new  battalions  of  light  infantry,  in  the  army  under 
Washington's  command.  In  the  assault  of  Stony  Point  he 
commanded  the  van  of  the  right  wing ;  was  the  first  that  en- 
tered the  main  wrorks,  and  struck  the  British  flag  with  his 
own  hands.  When  Rochambeau  arrived  in  1780,  Fleury  left 
the  American  service  and  became  an  officer  in  the  army  of 
the  French  commander.     "  In  each  of  these  capacities  he  had 

*  "Washington's  Writings,  v.,  155,  and  vi.,  307-309. 
f  Ibidem,  vol.  v.,  348 . 


624  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

uniformly,"  says  Washington,*  "  acquitted  himself  as  an  offi- 
cer of  distinguished  merit  for  talents,  zeal,  activity,  prudence 
and  bravery,  and  acquired  more  and  more  the  character  of  a 
judicious,  well-informed,  indefatigable  and  brave  officer." 

We  know  from  the  correspondence  of  Steuben  with  the 
French  minister,  Gerard,  how  highly  he  thought  of  Fleury's 
merits  and  talents,  and  how  warmly  he  interested  himself  for 
his  success  and  reputation.  There  are  in  the  Steuben  papers 
a  few  letters  of  Fleury  to  Steuben,  written  in  the  French 
camp  at  Newport,  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1780.  We  give 
here  those  portions  of  them  which  are  of  general  interest  : 

"  This  is  the  third  letter,  my  dear  general,"  says  Fleury, 
on  the  3d  of  August,  1780,f  "that  one  of  your  old  friends 
has  had  the  honor  to  write  to  you ;  who  does  not  know 
whether  you  are  still  living,  or  have  resolved  not  to  know 
him  any  longer.  We  expect  the  enemy  with  confidence.  We 
see  in  the  horizon  the  English  fleet.  If  they  do  not  come 
with  more  than  eight  thousand  men,  their  arrival  this  evening 
will  be  more  desirable  than  dangerous. 

"  You  are  going,  I  am  told,  to  come  nearer  to  New  York. 
Frighten  them,  we  then  shall  be  more  tranquil ;  but  do  not 
place  yourself  too  near  to  King's  Bridge.  I  should  be  afraid 
they  would  disembark  behind  you,  if  a  battle  must  be  fought 
in  a  position  of  their  choice." 

"I  thank  you,  my  dear  general,"  continues  Fleury,  on  the 
1 7th  of  August,  1780,  "  for  your  kind  letter.  I  shall  always  rely 
on  the  friendship  which  you  promise  me.  You  have  passed  the 
North  river  and  are  going  to  establish  yourselves  at  Dobbs" 
Ferry.  I  do  not  know  this  position,  but  it  appears  to  me  a 
little  exposed,  especially  for  your  upper  posts  in  the  east  and 
at  Stony  Point.  You,  however,  know  it  much  better  than  I 
who  speak  of  it  from  hearsay.  If  without  indiscretion  you 
can  give  me  some  knowledge  of  your  army,  and  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  enemy,  I  should  be  very  much  obliged  to  you.  If 
*  Washington's  Writings,  vi.,  307.  f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  i. 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  625 

Duponceau  should  be  with  you,  I  request  him  to  trouble  him- 
self with  this  task.  We  are  very  quiet  here.  The  fleet  of 
the  enemy  is  still  in  view,  and  is  blockading  us.  Mr.  De  La- 
fayette has  arrived  to  join  us.  I  wish  him  much  glory ;  but 
I  have  resigned  all  claims  to  distinction  since  I  have  left  you. 
I  am  too  insignificant.  Adieu,  my  dear  general.  Be  as  happy 
as  you  deserve  to  be,  and  believe  me  always  full  of  respect 
and  gratitude  to  you." 

"  I  have  little  time,"  writes  Fleury,  on  the  6th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1780,  from  "Newport,  "to  write  to  you,  but  I  can  not  let 
Mr.  De  La  Luzerne  depart  without  a  letter  for  you.  There 
are  no  news  here.  Rodney  is  in  New  York.  He  has  been 
announced  to  us,  but  he  does  not  come.  Everybody  wished 
it,  and  as  to  me,  who  am  perhaps  a  little  too  timid,  I  only 
waited  for  him.  Our  situation,  however,  is  formidable.  The 
fleet  lies  at  anchor  from  Breton  Point  to  Rose  island,  on  which 
points  batteries  are  erected.  Goat  island,  which  lies  within 
the  line  formed  by  the  fleet,  is  also  entrenched.  We  have 
left  Canonieut,  of  which  the  nearest  point  is  two  thousand  and 
sixty  yards  from  the  line  of  our  vessels.  At  this  distance 
the  bombs  are  not  to  be  dreaded,  although  they  can  well 
reach  it.  On  landAve  occupy  the  English  lines.  Our  right 
is  at  Easton's  Beach,  and  the  left  at  Tominy  hill.  If  the  En- 
glish come,  they  will  regret  it,  we  are  told.  I  do  not  dare  to 
have  a  contrary  opinion,  and  I  really  believe  that  an  attack 
from  the  sea  will  not  be  very  dangerous ;  but  the  cooperation 
of  twenty-one  vessels  and  ten  thousand  men  embarrasses  us. 

"  Your  infamous  Arnold  has  abandoned  himself  to  an  eter- 
nal infamy !  What  demon  impelled  him  to  take  this  detest- 
able step  ?     Is  his  wife  the  cause  or  only  the  occasion  of  the 

crime  ?     Is mixed  with  this  horrible  affair  ?     Is  Smith 

hanged?  Can  not  Andre  be  hanged  ?  I  am  very  curious  to 
hear  all  the  details  of  this  atrocity ;  be  kind  enough  to  give 
them  to  me.  Arnold  is  not  the  only  man  whom  I  blame ;  he 
who  once  has  made  the  country  suspicious  of  his  virtue  is  not 

27 


G'20  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

the  most  culpable,  when  the  blind  and  criminal  confidence  that 
is  put  in  him  makes  him  a  traitor.    That's  between  you  and  me." 

William  North,  Steuben's  other  favorite  aid-de-camp,  was 
born  in  1752,  and  died  in  New  York  on  the  3d  of  January, 
J 836,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three  years.  "He  has 
filled,"  says  the  memoir  of  the  Cincinnati,  "  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  history  of  his  country,  not  only  in  the  war  of  in- 
dependence, but  in  our  subsequent  annals.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man by  birth,  education,  and  early  association,  and  when  he 
took  up  arms  in  defense  of  his  country,  became  the  gallant 
and  aspiring  officer.  He  was,  in  1777,  appointed  a  captain  in 
Colonel  Jackson's  regiment  of  infantry,  and  fought  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Monmouth.  In  1779  he  was  appointed  aid-de-camp  to 
Steuben,  and  soon  became  his  favorite ;  aided  and  assisted 
the  baron  in  introducing  his  system  of  discipline  into  the  Con- 
tinental army.  Major  North  was  with  the  army  in  Virginia, 
and  was,  with  Baron  Steuben,  present  at  the  surrender  of  the 
British  army,  commanded  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  in  October, 
1781.  After  the  war  of  the  Revolution  was  ended,  and  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  acknowledged,  North  re- 
tired to  private  life  ;  but  afterwards,  induced  so  accept  public 
employment  in  support  of  the  institutions  which  his  valor  had 
contributed  to  found,  was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  Speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
and,  for  a  short  period,  one  of  the  Senators  of  New  York  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  During  our  troubles  with 
France,  in  the  presidency  of  the  elder  Adams,  Major  North 
was  appointed  adjutant  general  of  the  army  which  was  raised 
on  that  occasion,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier  general." 

Steuben  loved  North  like  a  son  for  his  unreserved  devo- 
tion, for  his  jovial  and  amiable  disposition  of  mind,  and  for  the 
energy  and  zeal  which  he  displayed  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties.  During  the  war  their  correspondence  was,  of  course, 
very  small,  as  they  were  almost  never  separated  ;  but  we  find 
iu  the  Steuben  papers   a  great    many  letters,  written    after 


LIFE      OF      STEUBEN.  627 

the  close  of  the  war  by  North,  which  prove  the  most  cordial 
and  intimate  relations  between  the  general  and  his  aid.  North, 
after  the  death  of  Steuben,  erected  in  his  honor  not  only  a 
stone  monument,  but  a  written  one,  in  the  eloquent  biograph- 
ical sketch  from  which  we  derived  so  much  valuable  and  in- 
teresting information  about  the  character  of  our  hero. 

"  On  the  eve  of  returning  to  the  north  from  Virginia" — 
states  North  in  this  pamphlet,  who  is  himself  the  aid-de-camp 
alluded  to — "  '  I  must  go,'  said  Steuben  to  a  sick  aid-de-camp, 
4 1  must  leave  you,  my  son,  but  I  leave  you  among  a  people 
where  we  have  found  the  door  of  every  house  wide  open  ; 
where  the  heart  of  every  female  is  full  of  tenderness  and  virtue. 
Quit  this  deleterious  spot  the  instant  you  are  able  ;  there  is  my 
sulky,  and  here  is  half  of  what  I  have — God  bless  you  ! — I  can 
do  no  more.'  Nor  could  he.  A  journey  of  three  hundred 
miles  was  before  him,  a  single  piece  of  gold  in  his  purse  !  Are 
other  instances  necessary  to  unfold  the  texture  of  his  heart  ? 
How  many  have  I  written  on  my  own  !" 

After  the  conclusion  of  peace,  Steuben  and  North  lived 
some  time  together  in  the  "  Louvre."  The  firm  of  which  this 
house  formed  a  part  belonged  to  a  Mr,  David  Provost,  who, 
on  account  of  his  constant  command  of  cash,  had  been  styled 
when  living,  "  Ready  Money  Provost,"  to  whose  memory,  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill,  a  monument  was  erected.  A  gentleman 
observing  that,  in  the  event  of  death,  Steuben  would  be  at  no 
loss  for  a  snug  place  of  interment,  North  replied,*  "Then,  sir, 
his  disposition  must  alter  with  his  state,  for  in  life  he  wrill 
never  tolerate  the  idea  of  laying  by  ready  money." 

Steuben's  and  North's  friendship  lasted  until  the  death  of 
the  former,  who  made  him  the  heir  of  one  half  of  his  property. 
For  its  better  illustration,  we  give  here  a  few  extracts  of  let- 
ters written  by  North  between  the  years  1782  and  1789  : 

"  It  is  now  over  three  years,"  writes  North  on  the  29th  of 
October  and  6th  of  November,  1782,  from  Fishkill  Landing,f 

*  Percy's  Anecdotes,  ii.,  122.  f  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  ix. 


628  LIFE      OF      STEUBEN. 

"  since  I  had  first  the  honor  of  being  attached  to  you.  The 
numberless  acts  of  friendship  I  have  received  would  have  been 
ill  bestowed,  did  not  my  heart  feel  the  obligations,  and  make 
your  happiness  its  greatest  wish.  Permit  me,  my  dear  baron, 
to  address  you  with  the  freedom  of  a  friend,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  with  that  respect  that  shall  always  mark  my  character 
towards  you.  Your  services  to  my  ungrateful  country  have 
been  treated  with  a  neglect  shocking  to  every  man  of  sensibil- 
ity. Congress,  whose  eyes  ought  to  be  open  to  see  all  and 
whose  hand  ought  to  be  open  to  reward  all  who  have  well  de- 
served of  the  country,  are  unknowing  and  unknown,  except  a 
few  men  of  liberal  ideas.  It  is  hard,  at  the  last,  to  be  obliged 
to  ask  for  one's  right,  and  the  hardship  is  augmented  by  a  re- 
fusal. Congress  at  large  know  little  of  what  is  due  to  you  for 
your  exertions,  so  that  applying  to  them  as  a  body,  in  the  first 

instance,  would  be  to  no  purpose You  have  a 

friend  in  Mr.  Peters.  His  advice  with  respect  to  your  affairs, 
I  am  sure,  will  be  for  your  interest,  therefore  I  hope  you  will 
follow  it.  I  think  he  and  all  your  other  friends  must  advise 
that  you  continue  in  statu  quo  for  the  present,  that  is,  inspect- 
or and  major  general.  If  you  give  up  one  of  these  titles  you 
give  up  a  great  deal.  The  probability  that  the  end  of  the  war 
is  near  is  great.  You  have  borne  the  burden  in  the  heat  of 
the  day;  it  has  been  heavy,  very  heavy;  but  you  must  not 
faint.  *  Finis  coronat  opus?  Your  star  will  then  be  bright- 
ened for  this  perseverance.  The  department  of  which  you  are 
the  head  is  so  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  army,  that  I 
hope  you  will  not  be  permitted  to  resign  it.  It  is  so  conspic- 
uous a  post,  that  I  never  wish  to  see  it  filled  by  another,  while 
there  is  an  American  army  to  profit  by  your  instructions." 

"  I  hope  the  pleasure  that  you  will  receive  from  your  situ- 
ation this  winter  will  make  up  for  the  fatigues  of  last  cam- 
paign. I  suppose  your  home  will  be  mostly  at  Mr.  Peters'. 
This  winter  will  give  your  friends  an  opportunity  of  exerting 
themselves  effectually  for  you." 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  629 

"  What,  with  a  villainous  wind,"  says  North,  in  a  letter  of 
the  19th  of  October,  1784,*  "and  the  foolish  parade  which 
has  been  made  with  the  Don  Quixote  Lafayette,  I  have  not 
had  a  moment's  peace.  He  arrived  here  on  Friday,  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  foolish  disbanded  officers  and  the  town  rab- 
ble ;  seated  on  a  little  horse  (for  the  sake  of  Christ  I  am  sorry 
it  was  not  an  ass)  he  made  his  public  entry.  Yesterday  they 
gave  him  a  dinner,  and  at  night  Madame  Hayley,  and  old 

,  gave  him  some  of  the  most  infamous  fire- works  I  ever 

saw ;  but  he,  like  a  true  Frenchman,  told  her  they  were  su- 
perb. He  has  done  me  the  honor  to  notice  me.  While  we 
were  looking  at  the  exhibition,  he  observed,  putting  his  arm 
around  my  neck  and  whispering,  how  pleased  he  was  that  this 
attention  was  paid  him  by  an  English  woman.  But  damn  the 
subject !  I  have  kept  too  long  on  it  already.  Monsieur  le 
marquis  goes  to  Rhode  Island  to  receive  the  honor  due  him 
from  that  State." 

"  I  received  your  letter,  my  dear  baron,  of  the  12th  of  De- 
cember," writes  North  from  Duanesburg,  on  the  8th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1789,t  "this  morning,  and  have  attempted  three  times 
to  answer  it ;  but  I  could  not  please  myself,  and  therefore  tore 
the  sheet  in  pieces.  To  what  it  was  owing  I  know  not ;  but  I 
have  had  the  blue  devils  all  this  morning.  We  have  just  dined 
on  soup  and  beef-steaks,  and  I  have  drawn  two  glasses  of  your 
sherry.  Would  to  God  you  were  here  to  drink  with  me ! 
Whether  this  wish  will  banish  my  ill  humor,  my  letter  will 
show,  provided  I  do  not  tear  it  in  pieces  also.  I  am  up  by 
daylight,  and  set  my  man  and  boy  to  work  this  morning  ;  they 
were  sent  at  a  distance  from  hence,  and  I  was  obliged  to  drudge 
a  mile  and  a  half,  with  a  load  on  my  shoulders,  through  their 
carelessness.  It  is  not  very  pleasant  to  walk  through  the  snow 
with  a  load  ;  I  did  sweat  most  confoundedly  ;  this  made  me  a 
little  angry.  But  this  was  not  all.  Your  letter  told  me  every- 
body was  going  to  be  a  great  man.  I  hate  everybody  who  is 
*  Steuben  MS.  Papers,  vol.  x.  \  Ibidem,  vol.  xiii. 


630  LIFE     OP     STEUBEN. 

greater  than  myself,  except  you.  I  see  no  chance  I  have  of 
getting  any  thing  in  this  scramble.  This,  perhaps,  made  me 
mad.  Knox  will  remain  Secretary  of  War  or  have  an  equiv- 
alent. His  smiles  and  bows  have  secured  him  a  place  of  con- 
sequence in  the  new  government.  If  you  come  in,  you  must 
resolve  to  see  him  your  equal.  Except  a  very  few,  I  despise 
and  detest  the  whole  human  species :  would  to  God  I  had 
been  an  Indian  !  I  should  either  have  been  a  warrior  or  a 
sachem.  My  wife  is  the  best  woman  possible ;  my  boy  is 
good,  but  I  am  not  happy.  My  father-in-law  tells  me  I  am 
independent.  So  I  am  ;  and  so  is  every  fellow  with  a  woolen 
shirt,  who  owns  a  hundred  acres  of  land.  I  go  to  Albany 
with  Polly  and  the  boy  to-morrow,  for  the  first  time  since  wTe 
have  lived  here.  It  is  business  more  than  pleasure  that  takes 
me  there.  I  shall  get  no  office  under  the  new  government, 
because  I  shall  ask  for  none.  I  am  proud  and  honest.  I  know 
what  I  am  worth,  and  if  other  people  do  not  know  it  without 
my  telling  them,  they  may  remain  ignorant.  Hamilton,  Jay, 
and  several  others  who  will  have  the  chief  management  in  this 
business,  know  me  ;  but  they  have  their  friends  and  depend- 
ents. I  shall  go  to  New  York,  kiss  you  and  Ben  ;  go  to  Bos- 
ton, comfort  my  old  mother,  and  return  here  to  drudge  on  in 
getting  my  living. 

"  Knox  is  too  firmly  footed  to  be  ousted  ;  it  would  not  do. 
If  he  is  not  Secretary  of  War  he  will  be  something  higher ; 
however,  he  has  not  interest  enough  to  get  Jackson  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops,  or  Doughty  the  command  of  the  artillery, 
though  this  would  be  easier  than  the  other.  Pray  who  is  talked 
of  as  Postmaster  General  ?  My  father-in-law  (Duane)  has  been 
here  and  is  gone  to  Albany  a  month  since.  I  will  tell  you 
what  we  conversed  about  when  we  meet." 

James  Fairlie  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1757 
or  1758.  His  father  was  the  captain  of  a  bark  in  the  Havana 
trade.  At  the  time  the  Asia,  man-of-war,  fired  upon  New 
York,  he  was  first  on  the  ground  with  his  company  at  the 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  631 

Bowling  Green,  to  oppose  the  enemy.  He  entered  the  revo- 
lutionary army  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1775  or  early  in 
17 70.  He  was  first  commissioned  as  an  ensign  in  the  first 
New  York  regiment,  then  commanded  by  Colonel  (afterward 
Major  General)  Macdougal,  and,  upon  the  reform  of  the  army, 
was  appointed  to  the  same  rank  in  the  regiment  then  com- 
manded by  Colonel  (afterward  General)  Philip  Yan  Court- 
landt.  He  accompanied  his  regiment  to  the  North,  and  was 
present  and  distinguished  himself  at  the  capture  of  the  British 
army  in  the  year  1777.  In  1778  Fairlie  was  appointed  aid- 
de-camp  to  Steuben,  and  acted  in  that  capacity  at  the  battle 
of  Monmouth.  Afterward  he  went  with  Steuben  to  Yirginia, 
where  he  was  taken  prisoner.  After  his  exchange,  he  joined 
the  army  again  at  Newburg,  and  continued  in  it  until  the  close 
of  the  revolutionary  war. 

After  its  close  he  first  lived  a  few  years  with  Steuben, 
Walker,  and  North  without  special  employment.  He  next 
became  claim-agent  for  the  State  of  New  York  and  then  held 
several  offices.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
York,  during  his  life,  several  years  a  member  of  the  Assembly, 
and  one  of  the  delegates  that  formed  the  new  constitution  of 
1823.  Jefferson  gave  him  the  honorary  office  of  commissioner 
of  bankruptcy.  During  the  wrar  of  1812  he  was  offered  the 
post  of  adjutant  general  of  the  United  States,  by  Madison, 
which  he,  howTever,  declined. 

Fairlie  discharged  the  duties  of  the  several  offices  he  held 
with  great  zeal  and  ability.  He  died,  seventy-three  years  old, 
on  the  11th  of  October,  1830,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
was  buried  writh  military  honors. 

Fairlie  married  the  daughter  of  Chief  Justice  Robert 
Yates  in  Albany.  The  eclat  that  surrounded  those  of  the 
officers  who  had  distinguished  themselves  in  the  Revolution, 
often  enabled  them  to  marry  among  the  first  families  in  the 
State.  This  happened  with  William  North,  who  married  a 
daughter  of  Mayor  Duane,  and  Colonel   Fish,  who   married 


032  LITE     OF      STEUBEN. 

among  the  descendants  of  Governor  Stuyvesant.  Fairlie  was 
so  liberal  in  his  disposition,  and  so  addicted  to  fashionable  dis- 
play, that  his  friends  thought  it  would  be  advantageous  for 
him  to  marry,  and  promoted  his  connection  with  the  family  of 
the  chief  justice. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Fairlie  as  aid  of  Steu- 
ben in  Virginia,  and  as  one  of  the  most  ardent  promoters  of 
the  Cincinnati  society,  the  secretary  of  which  he  was  in  1784. 
We  shall  here  only  refer  to  his  private  character.  His  great 
ambition  was  to  enliven  society  by  his  wit.  Steuben  liked 
him  very  much  for  his  humor,  his  fidelity,  his  sincere  friend- 
ship, and  his  readiness  to  assist  others.  Those  of  his  letters 
that  have  been  preserved  relate  almost  exclusively  to  business 
matters,  but  Fairlie's  amiable  disposition  and  ingenious  wit  are 
very  highly  spoken  of  by  his  contemporaries.  Washington  Ir- 
ving calls  him  of  facetious  memory,  and  states  that  when  Wash- 
ington, at  the  return  of  peace,  was  sailing  in  a  boat  on  the  Hud- 
son, he  wras  so  overcome  by  the  drollery  of  a  story  told  by  Major 
Fairlie  that  he  fell  back  in  the  boat  in  a  paroxysm  of  laughter.* 

We  do  not  remember  to  have  read  any  thing  more  pleas- 
ant and  witty  than  one  of  his  letters  to  Benjamin  Walker,  in 
which,  by  a  series  of  false  conclusions,  he  proves  that  a  lot 
in  Broadway  at  Albany,  was  worth  double  the  price  of  one  in 
Courtland  street  at  New  York,  as  Albany,  instead  of  New 
York,  was  soon  to  become  the  great  commercial  metropolis 
of  the  United  States.  He  therefore  proposed  to  Walker  to 
change  the  Albany  lot  for  Walker's  lot  in  Courtland  street, 
adding  that  he  was  thereby  conferring  a  great  favor  on  his 
friend  by  giving  him  a  chance  of  a  very  good  speculation.  As 
the  wit  of  the  circle  that  assembled  around  Steuben,  he  was 
popular  among  all  who  knew  him,  and  he  could  say  and  do  a 
great  many  things  which  wrould  have  offended,  if  said  or  done 
by  others. 

When  Steuben  first  settled  on  his  farm  in  Oneida  county, 
*  Washington's  Life,  iv.,  475. 


LIFE     OP     STEUBEN.  033 

the  first  difference  arose  between  him  and  Fairlie.  Steuben 
made  a  present  to  his  former  aids  of  a  few  hundred  acres  of 
land.  On  one  occasion  North  and  Fairlie  were  together,  when 
the  latter  being  highly  pleased  with  a  set  of  Sevres  china  in 
the  possession  of  the  former,  agreed  to  exchange  the  land 
which  Steuben  had  presented  him,  for  the  china.  When  this 
came  to  Steuben's  ears,  he  became  not  only  indignant,  but 
felt  his  pride  much  hurt,  and  in  order  to  punish  Fairlie  gave 
double  the  quantity  of  land  to  his  aids,  and  the  share  which 
would  have  fallen  to  Fairlie,  he  gave  to  North  in  addition. 
Although  the  land  at  that  time  was  of  but  little  value,  Fair- 
lie's  conduct  appeared  in  Steuben's  eyes  very  disrespectful, 
and  he  never  forgave  him  for  it  to  the  hour  of  his  death. 
Fairlie  sometimes  spoke  of  this  occurrence  with  regret  in  his 
latter  days.  It  appears  that  on  account  of  this  bargain,  Steu- 
ben did  not  notice  him  in  his  will. 

Nicholas  Fish,  born  in  1758,  and  deceased  on  the  20th  of 
June,  1833,  was  major  of  the  second  New  York  regiment 
when  Steuben  introduced  his  system  of  discipline  into  the 
army,  and  was  appointed  by  Washington  as  one  of  the  first 
brigade  inspectors  under  Steuben.  The  latter  said  of  him,  that 
he  would  have  made  an  excellent  officer  in  the  best  European 
army,  and  liked  him  very  much  for  his  gallantry,  and  his  ener- 
gy and  efficiency  in  drilling  and  disciplining  the  troops.  At 
the  forming  of  the  light  infantry  he  was  one  of  the  first  ma- 
jors who  received  a  battalion  of  this  new  corps,  and,  while 
still  acting  as  inspector  of  brigade,  he  assisted  Steuben  in  the 
selection  and  formation  of  these  troops.  From  this  time  we 
found  a  letter  of  Fish  to  Steuben,  written  at  West  Point  on 
the  2d  of  July,  1780,  which,  as  an  evidence  of  their  friendly 
intercourse,  we  insert  here. 

"  We  have  spent,"  says  Fish,  "  a  most  active  and  itinerant 
life,  one  day  beholding  the  beauties  of  Jersey,  the  next  partak- 
ing the  sweets  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  then  enjoying  the  agree- 
able society  of  our  New  York  friends,  have  been  led  to  imag- 

27* 


C34  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

ine,  from  a  comparison  of  our  situation  with  that  of  those  at 
West  Point,  Fort  Schuyler,  etc.,  that  we  were  peculiarly  for- 
tunate, they  as  singularly  unhappy. 

"  I  know  not  whence  our  aversion  to  this  post  took  birth  ; 
so  is  the  fact,  however,  that  myself  with  others  had  formed  the 
most  despicable  idea  of  it,  and  to  my  agreeable  disappoint- 
ment I  find  it  not  only  tolerable,  but,  upon  the  whole,  some- 
what pleasant.  Our  amusements,  indeed,  are  few  and  rather 
cireumscribed ;  but  we  enjoy  the  constant  luxury  of  beholding 
one  of  Nature's  most  magnificent,  tremendous  and  variegated 
landscapes.  There  is  so  solemn  a  pomp  and  grandeur  in  the 
most  prodigious  piles  that  environ  us,  that  I  am  constantly 
impressed  with  ideas  of  a  serious  and  contemplative  mind. 

"  I  would  not,  however,  sir,  wish  you  to  imagine  that  I  am 
so  absorbed  in  contemplation,  as  to  relax  in  the  duties  of  grati- 
tude and  friendship.  I  would  embrace  every  occasion  of  evinc- 
ing this,  and  should  have  done  myself  the  pleasure  of  waiting 
on  the  baron  when  he  was  at  this  post,  had  I  known  it  in  sea- 
son. 

"  Our  troops,  sir,  you  will  readily  suppose,  have  had  a  se- 
vere tour  since  we  left  Morristown.  One  regiment  has  visited 
Fort  Schuyler,  one  Fort  Edward,  the  other  two  were  posted 
on  the  Mohawk  river,  near  Fort  Plank.  We  have  received 
no  supply  of  clothing  except  shoes.  You  will,  therefore,  sir, 
easily  figure  out  our  situation. 

"I  have  appointed  Wednesday  next  for  the  inspection  of 
the  brigade.  I  should  be  exceedingly  happy  to  have  any  in- 
structions the  baron  may  wish  to  give.  I  would  thank  Cap- 
tain Walker  and  Mr.  Fairlie  to  send  by  the  bearer  a  form  that 
I  may  copy  after  in  my  returns.  If  they  will  send  a  return 
of  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  I  will  very  carefully 
preserve  the  original." 

In  1793  it  was  Fish,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
who  surveyed  with  Steuben  the  neighborhood  of  New  York 
for  suitable  fortifications. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  635 

William  S.  Smith  was  one  of  Steuben's  most  steadfast 
friends,  but  was  only  for  a  short  time  attached  to  his  military 
staff.  We  found  no  particular  mention  made  of  the  date  when 
he  joined  Steuben  ;  but  it  must  have  been  before  July,  1781, 
at  which  time  he  was  appointed  aid-de-camp  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. Smith,  after  the  war,  first  lived  with  Steu- 
ben, and  in  the  beginning  of  1785  went  as  secretary  of  lega- 
tion to  England,  under  John  Adams,  whose  daughter  he  after- 
wards married.  His  correspondence  from  England  and  the 
continent,  with  Steuben,  fills  the  greater  part  of  volume  X. 
of  the  Steuben  papers ;  but  his  letters,  besides  his  friendly 
talk  and  the  ordinary  description  of  the  places  and  countries 
he  saw,  do  not  contain  much  of  general  interest.  After  his 
return  to  America  Smith  filled  high  offices  in  the  Cincinnati 
Society,  having  been  secretary  from  1790  till  1793,  and  vice 
president  in  1794.  He  became  president  in  1804,  and  died  as 
such  on  the  10th  of  June,  1816.  We  give  here  only  two  ex- 
tracts of  his  letters,  one  of  which  shows  Smith's  feelings  to- 
ward Steuben,  and  the  other  refers  to  his  introduction  at  the 
English  court,  where  he  met  the  traitor  Arnold. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pain,  my  dear  general  and  friend,"  writes 
he  from  London,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1785,  "  to  find  you  de- 
scribing your  solitary  situation.  If  my  finances  would  justify 
my  fixing,  and  I  could  continue  to  flatter  myself  that  my  so- 
ciety would  be  pleasing,  you  should  never  want  a  companion 
in  amusement  or  a  sincere  friend  to  accompany  you  in  retire- 
ment ;  but  this  can  not  be,  unless  I  should  write  a  sensible 
love  letter  and  receive  a  favorable  answer." 

And  on  the  5th  of  July,  1785,  he  continued : 

"...  I  was  honored  by  an  introduction  to  her  Majes- 
ty the  queen.  Thus,  sir,  you  see  your  young  friend  removed 
from  the  elegant  simplicity  of  the  Louvre  into  the  gay  attract- 
ing circles  of  a  court ;  but  do  not  be  uneasy,  he  will  not  be 
captivated  by  it 

"  On  the  22d  of  June  I  attended  a  levee  at  the  palace,  and 


630  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

among  the  rest  appeared  the  traitor  Arnold  in  full  British  uni- 
form as  a  general  officer.  He  conversed  with  but  one  gentle- 
man, and  seemed  to  exert  himself,  by  putting  on  a  pleasant 
countenance,  to  hide  the  lines  of  a  traitor  under  the  smiles  of 
a  courtier.  He  did  not  remain  long — that  is,  a  great  space  of 
time — but  it  was  quite  long  enough  to  disgrace  the  assembly, 
and,  in  my  view,  to  place  majesty  in  a  despicable  point  of 
light."  .... 

Here  we  must  stop,  not  having  been  able  to  collect  more 
materials  about  Steuben's  aides-de-camp  and  sub-inspectors. 

We  are  particularly  sorry  that  the  sources  of  information 
about  William  Davies  of  Virginia,  the  most  efficient  of  Steu- 
ben's sub-inspectors  and  assistants,  are  so  scanty.  In  spite  of 
all  our  endeavors  we  could  not  trace  the  particulars  of  his 
life  either  before  or  after  the  revolutionary  war.  He  has  de- 
served a  monument  for  himself,  for  he  did  more  than  is  com- 
monly known,  with  that  unostentatious  self-sacrifice  which  is 
an  attribute  of  only  noble  characters. 

We  hope,  however,  that  the  biographical  sketches  con- 
tained in  this  chapter  will  be  considered  sufficient  to  convey 
an  adequate  idea  of  the  value  of  the  individuals  mentioned,  as 
well  as  of  their  general. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

Steuben's  Person  and  Character. — His  Sense  of  Justice  and  Benevolence.— 
Anecdotes.  —  Lieutenant  Gibbons.  —  Lieutenant  Colonel  Cochrane.  —  Miss 
Sheaf. — Robert  Morris  and  the  empty  Treasury. — Steuben  never  Married. 
— The  Impression  he  made  on  his  Contemporaries. — His  Faults.— His  Improvi- 
dence in  Money  Matters. — Bad  Consequences  resulting  therefrom. — Steuben's 
Military  Position  and  Importance  in  the  Revolutionary  War. — Prussia  the 
best  School  of  War  during  the  Eighteenth  Century. — The  temporizing 
Character  of  the  last  Years  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  much  like  the 
American  War. — Steuben's  Exertions  in  the  Interest  of  the  Service. — His 
Modesty. — His  Position  in  the  Country  of  his  Adoption. — He  is  more  than  a 
mere  Drill  Sergeant.— He  is  the  ablest  Officer  on  Washington's  Staff.— 
Washington  the  Head  of  the  Revolutionary  War. — Steuben  one  of  its 
strong  Arms. 

GTEUBEX'S  countenance  displayed  a  combination  of  energy 
^  and  benevolence.  His  head  was  round,  his  forehead  large, 
his  nose  fine,  almost  aquiline,  and  a  piercing  hazel  eye  gave 
animation  to  his  face,  the  upper  part  of  which  was  remarkably 
expressive  of  the  strong  traits  of  his  character  ;  but  his  mouth 
and  lips  did  not  correspond  with  the  general  manly  expression 
of  his  countenance.  In  dressing  his  hair,  he  conformed  to  the 
singularly  slender  cue  of  Frederick  the  Great,  which,  with  a 
slight  bend  of  the  shoulders,  indicated  the  universal  attention 
by  which  courtiers  and  officers  compliment  their  monarch  in 
imitating  the  minor  circumstances  of  dress  and  carriage. 

His  stature  was  about  five  feet  seven  inches ;  his  carriage 
was  very  graceful  and  elevated,  without  being  affected  in  the 
slightest  degree ;  his  walk  was  slow  and  measured.  In  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  he  became  rather  portly. 

He  was  an  excellent  horseman.  Bishop  Ashbel  Greene, 
who  saw  him  at  the  affair  of  Connecticut  Farms,  in  June, 
1780,  says  of  him  :  "  Never  before,  or  since,  have  I  had  such 
an  impression  of  the  ancient  fabled  god  of  war  as  when  I 


G38  LIFE      OF     STEUBEN. 

looked  on  the  baron  ;  he  seemed  to  me  a  perfect  personifica- 
tion of  Mars.  The  trappings  of  his  horse,  the  enormous  hol- 
sters of  his  pistols,  his  large  size,  and  his  strikingly  martial 
aspect,  all  seemed  to  favor  the  idea."* 

Steuben  was  rather  haughty  in  his  bearing,  which  did  not 
in  the  least  diminish  his  frankness  and  cordiality  in  social  in- 
tercourse, and  he  was  of  easy  access,  benevolent,  and  full  of  a 
high  sense  of  justice.  At  a  review  near  Morristown,  a  Lieuten- 
ant Gibbons,  a  brave  and  good  officer,  was  arrested  on  the 
spot,  and  ordered  to  the  rear,  for  a  fault  which,  it  afterward 
appeared,  another  had  committed.  At  a  proper  moment  the 
commander  of  the  regiment  came  fonvard  and  informed  the 
baron  of  Mr.  Gibbons'  innocence,  of  his  worth,  and  of  his  acute 
feelings  under  his  unmerited  disgrace.  "  Desire  Lieutenant 
Gibbons  to  come  to  the  front,  colonel.  Sir,"  said  the  baron, 
addressing  the  young  gentleman,  "  the  fault  which  was  com- 
mitted by  throwing  the  line  into  confusion  might,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  enemy,  have  been  fatal ;  I  arrested  you  as  its  sup- 
posed author,  but -I  have  reason  to  believe  that  I  was  mistaken, 
and  that,  in  this  instance,  you  were  blameless.  I  ask  your 
pardon  ;  return  to  your  command  ;  I  would  not  deal  unjustly 
toward  any  one,  much  less  toward  one  whose  character  as  an 
officer  is  so  respectable."  All  this  passed  with  the  baron's  hat 
off,  the  rain  pouring  on  his  venerable  head  !  Do  you  think 
there  was  an  officer  or  soldier  who  saw  it,  unmoved  by  affec- 
tion and  respect  ?     Not  one.* 

At  the  disbandment  of  the  revolutionary  army,  when  in- 
mates of  the  same  tent  or  hut  for  seven  long  years  were  sep- 
arating, "  I  saw,"  says  North,  "  the  baron's  strong  endeavors 
to  throw  some  ray  of  sunshine  on  the  gloom,  to  mix  some 
drops  of  cordial  with  the  painful  draught.  To  go,  they  knew 
not  whither ;  all  recollection  of  the  art  of  thriving  by  civil  oc- 

*  The  Life  of  Aslibel  Greene,  by  Joseph  H.  Jones,  New  York.  Robert 
Carter  &  Brothers,  1844.     p.  109. 

f  James  Thacher's  Military  Journal,  Boston,  182?,  p.  416. 


LIFE      OP      STEUBEN.  639 

cupations,  was  lost,  or  to  the  youthful  never  known.  To  go 
in  silence  and  alone,  and  poor  and  helpless — it  was  too  hard  ! 
To  a  stern  old  officer,  a  Lieutenant  Colonel  Cochrane,  from  the 
Green  mountains,  who  had  met  danger  and  difficulty  in  almost 
every  step  from  his  youth,  and  upon  whose  furrowed  visage  a 
tear  till  that  moment  had  never  fallen,  the  good  baron  said — 
what  could  be  said  to  lessen  deep  distress.  '  For  myself,' 
said  Cochrane,  *  I  care  not ;  I  can  stand  it ;  but  my  wife  and 
daughters  are  in  the  garret  of  that  wretched  tavern.  I  know 
not  where  to  remove,  nor  have  I  the  means  for  their  removal.' 
c  Come,  my  friend,'  said  the  baron,  c  let  us  go  ;  I  will  pay  my 
respects  to  Mrs.  Cochrane  and  your  daughters,  if  you  please.' 
I  followed  to  the  loft,  the  lower  rooms  being  all  filled  with 
soldiers,  with  drunkenness,  despair,  and  blasphemy.  And 
when  the  baron  left  the  poor  unhappy  cast-aways,  he  left  hope 
with  them,  and  all  he  had  to  give. 

"A  black  man,  with  wounds  unhealed,  wept  on  the  wharf, 
for  it  was  at  Newburg  where  this  tragedy  was  acting.  There 
was  a  vessel  in  the  stream,  bound  to  the  place  where  he  once 
had  friends.  He  had  not  a  dollar  to  pay  his  passage,  and  he 
could  not  walk.  Unused  to  tears,  I  saw  them  trickle  down 
this  good  man's  cheeks  as  he  put  into  the  hands  of  the  black 
man  the  last  dollar  he  possessed.  The  negro  hailed  the  sloop, 
and  cried,  '  God  Almighty  bless  you,  master  baron  !'  "* 

In  his  habits  Steuben  was  popular  and  plain ;  maneuvers 
were  his  recreations ;  he  liked  agricultural  labor,  horses,  and 
sporting ;  books,  and  the  pleasures  of  social  company,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  domestic  circle  of  his  friends,  were  his  favorite 
'amusements.  All  these  qualities,  in  a  man  of  his  station,  were 
apt  to  exert  a  great  influence  on  those  around  him  ;  they 
worked  by  themselves,  they  captivated  everywhere,  and,  in- 
deed, it  seemed  that  their  effect  on  all  those  connected  with 
him  was  very  powerful.  He  never  lost  his  temper,  except 
when  greatly  provoked  by  grossness  or  culpable  negligence  of 
*  Thacher,  p.  418. 


040  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

public  duty ;  in  general  he  had  a  remarkable  control  over  him- 
self. He  was  temperate  in  his  habits,  but  very  social,  and 
wherever  he  was  he  made  every  company  lively.  A  great 
favorite  among  the  ladies,  he  wu  in  every  respect  the  polite, 
obliging,  and  witty  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  Once,  at  the 
house  of  the  mother  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  he  was  intro- 
duced to  a  Miss  Sheaf,  an  amiable,  handsome,  and  interesting 
young  lady.  "I  am  very  happy,"  said  he,  "in  the  honor  of 
being  presented  to  you,  mademoiselle,  though  I  see  it  is  at 
an  infinite  risk ;  I  have  from  my  youth  been  cautioned  to  guard 
myself  against  mischief  (Miss  Sheaf),  but  I  had  no  idea  that 
her  attractions  were  so  powerful." 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  revolutionary  general  about  whom 
so  many  anecdotes  are  told  as  Steuben.  Although  the  follow- 
ing story  may  be  an  invention,  as  Steuben,  so  far  as  we  know, 
was  never  able  to  employ  a  cook,  it  fairly  illustrates  what  his 
contemporaries  thought  of  his  wit  and  humor,  and  may  there- 
fore find  a  place  here. 

At  a  dinner  shortly  after  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Robert 
Morris,  as  financier  of  the  United  States,  the  cause  of  which 
appeared  inexplicable  to  the  company  present ;  "  to  me,"  said 
Baron  Steuben,  u  there  appears  no  mystery.  I  will  illustrate 
my  sentiments  by  a  simple  narrative.  When  I  was  about  to 
quit  Paris  to  embark  for  the  United  States,  the  better  to  in- 
sure comfort  when  in  camp,  I  judged  it  of  importance  to  en- 
gage in  my  service  a  cook  of  celebrity.  The  American  army 
was  posted  at  Valley  Forge  when  I  joined  it.  Arrived  at  my 
quarters,  a  wagoner  presented  himself,  saying  that  he  was 
directed  to  attach  himself  to  my  train,  and  obey  my  orders.' 
Commissaries  arriving  furnished  a  supply  of  beef  and  bread, 
and  retired.  My  cook  looked  round  him  for  utensils — indis- 
pensable, in  his  opinion,  for  preparing  a  meal — and,  finding 
none,  in  an  agony  of  despair  applied  to  the  wagoner  for  advice. 
4  We  cook  our  meat,'  replied  he, '  by  hanging  it  up  by  a  string, 
and  turning  it  before  a  good  fire  till  sufficiently  roasted.'    The 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN,  641 

next  day,  and  still  another  passed,  without  material  change. 
The  commissary  made  his  deposit.  My  cook  showed  the 
strongest  indications  of  uneasiness  by  shrugs  and  heavy  sigh- 
ing, but,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  oaths,  spoke  not  a  word 
of  complaint.  His  patience,  however,  was  completely  ex- 
hausted ;  he  requested  an  audience,  and  demanded  his  dismis- 
sal. 'Under  happier  circumstances,  raon  general,'  said  he,  cit 
would  be  my  ambition  to  serve  you,  but  here  I  have  no  chance 
of  showing  my  talents,  and  I  think  myself  obliged,  in  honor, 
to  save  your  expense,  since  your  wagoner  is  just  as  able  to 
turn  the  string  as  I  am.'  Believe  me,  gentlemen,"  continued 
the  baron,  "  the  Treasury  of  America  is,  at  present,  just  as 
empty  as  my  kitchen  was  at  Valley  Forge,  and  Mr.  Morris 
wisely  retires,  thinking  it  of  very  little  consequence  who  turns 
the  string."* 

Steuben  was  never  married.  It  seems,  however,  that  he 
met  with  a  disappointment  in  early  life.  While  preparing  to 
remove  to  his  farm,  the  accidental  fall  of  a  portrait  of  a  most 
beautiful  young  woman,  from  his  cabinet,  which  was  picked 
up  by  his  companion  and  shown  to  him,  with  the  request  to  be 
told  from  whom  it  was  taken,  produced  a  most  obvious  emo- 
tion of  strong  tenderness,  and  the  pathetic  exclamation,  "  O, 
she  was  a  matchless  woman  !"  He  never  afterwards  alluded 
to  the  subject. 

Even  the  faults  of  his  character,  which  seemed  to  throw  a 
shadow  over  his  virtues,  were  not  such  as  to  lower  him  in  the 
consideration  of  his  contemporaries,  but  they  often  caused  him 
many  difficulties.  He  never  appreciated  the  value  of  money. 
When  he  had  plenty  of  it,  he  gave  it  away  with  open  hands, 
regardless  of  the  consequences  to  himself.  "What  sums," 
says  North,  "  however  large,  could  have  been  sufficient  for 
one  who  was  always  looking  around  for  worthy  objects,  whose 
wants  might  be  relieved  ?  Never  did  a  review  or  an  inspec- 
tion pass  without  rewards  in  money  to  soldiers  whose  arms 
*  Garden's  Anecdotes,  p.  344. 


642  LIFE     OF     STEFREN. 

were  in  the  highest  order.  Never  was  his  table  unfilled  with 
guests,  if  furnished  with  provisions.  Officers  of  rank,  men 
most  prominent  for  knowledge  and  attention  to  their  duty, 
were  marked  for  invitation,  but  the  gentlemen  of  his  suite 
were  desired  to  complete  the  list  with  others  of  inferior  grade. 
'Poor  fellows,'  said  he,  'they  have  field  officers'  stomachs 
without  their  rations.'  "* 

"  General  Washington,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  his 
liberality,  said,  on  this  occasion,  to  a  friend,  who  repeated  it  to 
me,f  1 1  rejoice  that  Congress  has  given  to  so  excellent  a  patriot 
an  independency  by  an  annuity,  for  had  they  bestowed  a  spe- 
cific sum,  were  it  ten  times  the  amount,  the  generous  heart 
of  Steuben  would  keep  him  poor,  and  he  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, die  a  beggar.' " 

All  the  difficulties  which  for  eight  long  years  he  had  with 
Congress — all  the  humiliations  he  had  to  suffer  from  narrow- 
minded  men — must  be  attributed  to  his  cavalier  contempt  for 
money.  Had  he  been  a  shrewd  business  man,  an  officer  who 
speculated  in  war  like  merchants  in  any  staple  article,  he 
would  have  made  a  close  bargain,  and  secured  himself  a  firm 
standing,  and  thrown  all  the  odium  of  his  money  negotiations 
upon  Congress,  w7hich  was,  in  reality,  his  debtor  to  an  amount 
infinitely  larger  than  he  ever  owed  ;  but,  by  neglecting  this 
ordinary  precaution,  he  left  it  in  the  power  of  that  same  Con- 
gress to  represent  him  to  the  popular  prejudice  as  an  unprin- 
cipled, greedy  adventurer,  who  had  devoted  himself  to  the 
cause  of  American  independence  merely  out  of  personal  and 
selfish  interest. 

A  last  glance  at  Steuben's  military  importance  and  we  have 
done. 

As  to  his  services,  he  is  inferior  to  none  of  the  revolution- 
ary generals.  He  had  received  his  military  training  under 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  had  distinguished  himself  by  bril- 
liant exploits  as  well  as  by  his  talent  for  organization  and  drill. 
*  North,  1.  c.  f  Garden's  Anondotes,  345. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  643 

He  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  he  had 
filled  a  great  variety  of  offices  and  stations,  and  collected  in- 
valuable experience.  He  had  fought  in  the  bloodiest  battles, 
in  which  usually  more  men  were  killed  or  wounded  than 
Washington  had  in  most  cases  under  his  command.  Thus  the 
American  struggle  must  have  been  light  work  for  him.  But 
it  was  very  important  to  have  a  man  as  commander  to  whom 
the  battles  here  were  nothing  but  skirmishes  when  compared 
with  the  Seven  Years'  War;  who  knew  by  experience  at  Col- 
berg,  Schweidnitz,  Breslau,  Dresden,  Torgau  and  Prague, 
what  strategy  could  do ;  who  had  seen  the  fortified  camp  at 
Burkersdorf  and  the  defeats  at  Hochkirch  and  Landshut,  and 
who  had  been  obliged  to  master  in  his  mind  and  carry  into 
practice  the  conceptions  of  Frederick  the  Great,  Prince  Henry 
of  Prussia,  and  the  Duke  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick. 

For  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  art  of  wrar  as  it  is 
conducted  in  the  hostile  collisions  of  great  and  powerful 
States,  a  rich  experience  in  the  most  active  struggles  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable.  The  most  important  crisis  is  the  pitched 
battle,  the  most  difficult  and  troublesome  is  the  organization 
of  the  army,  to  make  them  behave  bravely  and  resist  for  a 
certain  time  the  murderous  fire  of  the  batteries,  and  the  fear- 
ful impressions  of  the  battle. 

At  Monmouth  Steuben  brought  the  retiring  troops,  in  the 
midst  of  a  heavy  cannonade,  to  a  stand,  and  it  is  acknowledged 
as  a  special  proof  of  their  progress  in  discipline  that  they 
obeyed  him  as  wTell  in  the  fire  as  on  the  parade  ground,  and 
fought  like  veterans.  Stony  Point  was  taken  by  the  light 
infantry  which  Steuben  had  formed,  and  which  his  sub-inspect- 
or Fleury  led  to  the  attack.  When  West  Point  was  seriously 
threatened,  the  commander-in-chief  sent  Steuben  there  to  as- 
sist the  commandant  of  that  important  place  with  his  advice. 
Greene  took  the  command  of  the  southern  army  under  the 
express  condition  that  Steuben  should  organize  the  Virginia 
troops  and  prepare  them  for  battle.     Washington  wrote  on 


G44  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

this  occasion  to  Steuben,  that  in  the  general  chaos  of  the 
South  he  would  be  of  more  service  in  Virginia  than  in  the 
North,  much  as  his  presence  there  was  needed.  In  the  years 
1782  and  1783,  according  to  the  testimony  of  competent 
judges,  the  American  infantry  was  equal  to  the  best  troops 
of  the  time;  even  the, French  officers  were  struck  with  admi- 
ration at  the  maneuvers  executed  in  their  presence  by  Steu- 
ben's soldiers. 

,  All  these,  and  other  illustrious  deeds,  abundantly  show 
how  effectual  Steuben's  exertions  proved  in  this  respect. 
From  the  time  of  his  engagement  to  the  end  of  the  war,  there 
prevailed  an  electrifying  confidence  in  final  success,  which  in 
no  small  degree  was  due  to  the  effect  produced  by  Steuben's 
services  in  the  camp  and  in  the  field.  This  preeminently  im- 
portant part  of  his  activity  has  usually  been  too  much  over- 
looked in  this  country,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  has  always 
been  acknowledged  that  he  has  performed  conspicuous  ser- 
vices as  a  disciplinarian,  organizer  and  inspector.  At  the  time 
when,  and  in  an  army  in  which  every  tiling  was  threatening 
to  dissolve  into  absolute  chaos,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  order 
out  of  the  general  confusion,  in  accustoming  the  soldiers  to 
yield  punctilious  obedience  to  orders,  in  awakening  in  them 
the  consciousness  of  their  superiority  when  disciplined  and 
organized.  In  former  wars  the  American  soldiers  had  fought, 
single  handed,  in  unorganized  bands ;  but  now  they  had,  for 
the  first  time,  to  carry  on  the  war  against  an  army  organized 
after  the  European  fashion. 

It  was,  therefore,  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  that  they 
were  formed  and  drilled  mainly  according  to  the  Prussian 
system.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the  officers  of  the  Prussian 
army  were  celebrated  as  experienced  tacticians,  as  excellent 
masters  in  the  art  of  military  evolutions,  as  good  instructors 
and  generals  in  maneuvering;  they  were  therefore  invited 
everywhere  as  instructors  of  the  European  armies.  For  in- 
stance Von  Alvenseeben  went  in  that  capacity  to  Spain,  Count 


LIFE     OF      STEUBEN.  645 

De  La  Lippe  to  Portugal ;  Yon  Salis  to  Naples ;  Schomburg 
and  Bruce,  who  had  been  instructed  in  Prussia,  to  England, 
and  a  countless  number  to  Russia  ever  since  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great.  In  this  way  the  rules  of  training  and  drilling, 
adopted  by  Frederick  William  I.,  may  be  called  the  basis  of 
all  the  military  regulations  in  the  world. 

The  science  of  war,  after  the  abolition  of  the  "Lnnds- 
knechts"  and  "  Condottieri"  systems  in  the  sixteenth  and  sev- 
enteenth centuries,  was  at  first  cultivated  by  the  Dutch,  under 
the  a3gis  of  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  in  regard  to  regular 
service,  the  elementary  principles  of  tactic  and  of  discipline — 
the  three  most  important  features  in  standing  armies.  Then 
the  Swedes,  under  Gustavus  Adolphus,  became  the  masters 
of  the  world,  and  remained  so  till  the  reign  of  Charles  XII. 
Then  it  was  Brandenburg  and  Prussia  which  excelled  in  the 
strategical  art  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  the  Swedes,  and 
improved  it  in  the  most  commendable  way,  becoming  the  first 
masters  in  the  art  of  drillino;  the  soldiers  and  exercising  them 
in  regular  evolutions.  Frederick  William  I.  had  inspired  the 
whole  body  of  his  officers  with  that  spirit  by  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  complete  the  difficult  organization  of  an  army  in  a 
very  short  time.  The  special  reviews  which  existed  at  the 
time  that  Steuben  was  an  officer  in  the  Prussian  army  (1747- 
1763)  were  so  severe  and  critical,  that  even  the  youngest  offi- 
cer necessarily  acquired  the  clearest  insight  into  the  condition 
of  the  troops,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  best  way  of 
improving  the  discipline. 

The  Americans  therefore  were  very  fortunate  in  remodel- 
ing their  army  after  the  best  authority,  by  placing  Steuben, 
a  graduate  of  such  a  school,  at  the  head  of  their  military  or- 
ganization. Steuben  was  well  aware  that  the  recruiting  sys- 
tem hitherto  practiced  was  in  no  way  adapted  to  the  object 
of  the  war.  He  accordingly  exerted  himself  to  give  to  the 
army  a  different  organization,  far  superior  in  its  character,  and 
founded  on  the  principles  of  the  militia  system.  The  great  value 


646  LIFE      OP     STEUBEN. 

of  Steuben's  exertions  being  directed  to  this  practical  branch 
of  the  organization — the  very  groundwork  of  a  good  army — 
will  appear  more  evident,  when  we  consider  that  the  French 
were  little  qualified  for  this  kind  of  service ;  that  General 
Conway  was  an  intriguer,  and  personal  enemy  of  Washington, 
and  that  the  latter,  as  commander-in-chief,  had  too  many  other 
duties  to  be  able  to  devote  his  attention  to  the  discipline  of  the 
army.  Steuben  further  successfully  managed  to  raise  the  ability 
of  his  militia  soldiers  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  He  liked, 
therefore,  afterwards  to  compare  himself  with  the  generals, 
who,  in  the  commencement  of  the  French  Revolution,  were 
the  chiefs  of  insurgent  armies.*  At  the  same  time,  like  Paoli, 
Laroche  Jacquelin,  Schill  and  Cabrera,  he  exhibited  his  em- 
inent talent,  even  in  a  foreign  country,  not  only  to  concen- 
trate his  forces  by  means  of  a  superior  organization,  but  also 
to  direct  their  attacks  against  the  enemy,  in  order  to  secure 
the  best  advantage  to  himself. 

The  plans  of  attacks  and  sieges  in  the  war  of  indepen- 
dence leave  no  doubt  that  the  strong  positions  on  the  coast, 
mostly  on  little  peninsulas,  their  sieges  and  defenses,  and  also 
the  long  line  of  defense  along  the  rivers  and  swamps,  formed 
the  most  important  meshes  of  the  strategical  net,  which,  be- 
sides its  extensive  dimensions,  chiefly  prevented  the  English 
from  permanently  subduing  any  considerable  portion.  The 
chief  requisite  has  evidently  been  to  occupy  said  lines  with  suffi- 
cient forces,  and  always  to  have  strong  corps  in  readiness  for 
blockading  the  English  forts  on  'the  shore,  in  order  to  render 
the  English  incapable  of  carrying  on  the  war  any  longer,  ns 
Franklin  expressed  himself  very  significantly.  Now  it  can  not 
be  denied  that  Steuben,  who  had  studied  under  Frederick  the 
Great  the  system  of  temporizing,  from  1759  to  1762,  was  the 
very  man  for  that  emergency. 

*D.  Yon  Biilow.     Der  Freistaat  vou  Nord-Amerika  in  seinem  neuesten 
Zustande,  Berlin,  1797,  vol.  ii.   84. 


LIFE     OF     STEUBEN.  647 

It  is,  moreover,  a  fact  that  Steuben,  brought  up,  and  hon- 
orably distinguished  as  he  was  among  the  most  prominent  offi- 
cers of  the  time,  was  serviceable  as  an  excellent  model  of  a 
perfect  soldier.  Free  from  intrigue  or  reserve,  he  did  his  duty 
spontaneously  from  motives  of  honorable  personal  ambition. 
He  needed  no  other  incentive  to  exert  himself  with  all  his 
energy  day  and  night  in  the  interest  of  the  service.  At  the 
same  time  that  he  was  a  frank,  open-hearted  soldier,  he  was 
always  ready  to  uphold  his  authority,  sword  in  hand.  His 
censure  was  severe  ;  he  was  unrelenting  toward  the  negligent ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  always  ready  to  acknowledge 
and  reward  true  merit.  Such  men  will  disappoint  the  lazy 
and  inert,  but  their  efficiency  is  great  whenever  large  bodies 
of  men,  accidentally  united,  are  to  be  drilled  to  act  together 
in  good  order. 

If  there  is  any  trait  that  shows  his  noble  character  in  its 
true  light,  it  is  the  readiness  with  which  Steuben  acknowl- 
edges the  merits  of  others  and  puts  them  above  his  own  ;  the 
pleasure  he  feels  at  every  brave  deed,  and  the  simplicity  and 
self-abnegation  with  which  he  wTorks,  steadfastly  and  unosten- 
tatiously, in  his  difficult  department. 

"  Steuben's  merits,"  says  Judge  Richard  Peters,  in  a  letter 
to  Alexander  Garden,*  "  have  never  been  duly  appreciated. 
Our  army  was  but  a  meritorious,  irregular  band,  before  his 
creation  of  discipline.  His  deportment  and  personal  conduct 
were  particularly  under  my  observation.  One  fact  to  prove  his 
usefulness  will  go  further  than  a  thousand  wTords.  In  the  es- 
timates of  the  War  Office  we  always  allowed  five  thousand 
muskets  beyond  the  actual  numbers  of  our  muster  of  the 
whole  army.  It  was,  in  early  times,  never  sufficient  to  guard 
against  the  waste  and  misapplication  that  occurred.  In  the 
last  inspection  returns  of  the  main  army,  before  I  left  the  War 
Department,  Baron  Steuben  being  then  inspector  general,  only 
three  muskets  were  deficient,  and  those  accounted  for." 
*  Garden's  Anecdotes,  p.  341. 


648  LIFE     OF     STEUBEN. 

Steuben  occupied  an  exalted  position  in  the  country  of  his 
adoption,  when  compared  with  Lee,  Gates,  Conway  and  other 
intriguers ;  though  foreign  born,  he  remained  always  attached 
to  this  country.  He  was  a  most  zealous  and  faithful  patriot, 
although  Congress  treated  him  with  little  consideration.  Even 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  he  did  not  cease  to  devote 
his  time  to  the  welfare  of  the  republic.  He  drew  a  plan  for 
the  establishment  of  a  national  military  school ;  he  published 
a  pamphlet  setting  forth  his  ideas  of  the  creation  of  a  militia  ; 
he  wrote  about  the  pending  system  of  State  debts,  and  even 
in  the  last  months  of  his  life,  undertook  personally  to  explore 
the  wilderness  of  the  West  for  convenient  places  of  fortifica- 
tion against  any  invasion  of  a  foreign  enemy.  These  various 
branches  of  his  usefulness  in  public  affairs,  refute  better  than 
any  long  argument  the  absurd  idea  that  Steuben  was  nothing 
but  a  drill  sergeant,  who  did  not  understand  the  higher  branches 
of  the  military  art.  In  short,  he  was  in  every  respect  the  best 
and  most  efficient  general  after  Washington  and  Greene,  and 
worthy  of  the  friendship  and  high  esteem  they  both  felt  toward 
him. 

If  Washington  must  be  called  the  head  and  soul  of  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  Steuben  may  be  considered  as  one  of 
its  strongest  arms,  as  the  efficient  instrument  which  served  to 
carry  out  into  practice  the  projects  which  Washington  con- 
ceived. He  is,  therefore,  fully  entitled  to  an  honorable  and 
enduring  place  in  the  history  of  the  American  people. 


APPENDIX. 


The  author  did  not  think  himself  entitled  to  make  any  alterations  or 
corrections  either  in  the  French  or  in  the  English  documents  contained 
in  this  Appendix.  The  letters  marked  *  are  translated  from  the  Ger- 
man and  French. 


PEDIGREE  OF  BARON  STEUBEN. 


Justina 

Louisa 

von 

Hertefeld 

auf 

Kolck. 

Anna  Maria 
von  Lii  deritz. 

Eleonora 
ivon  dem  Knesebeck. 

Ludolph 

von 
Luderitz 

auf 
Luderitz 

1 
Christian        Ursula 
Franz  von  |       von 

dem       1  Veltheim 
Knesebeck         auf 
auf  Bochin.  1  Aderstedt. 
1 
'  1 

Franz  Conrad 
von  dem 

Knesebeck. 

Maria  Justina  Dorothea      j 
von  Jagow. 

a 
09 

Magdalena 

von  dem 

Knesebeck. 

j      Arnold  August 
von  Jagow. 

1 

CO           j, 

c-a 
o  a 

"3 

i§i 

Siegfried 

vou  Jagow 

auf 

Grossen  Gartz 

und  Gerkoft. 

Elisabeth 

von 
Nassau 
Siegen, 
Countess 

of  the 
Empire. 

Louisa, 

Countess  de 

Waldeck. 

Charlotte  Dorothea, 
Countess  de  Effern. 

Johann 
von 
Waldeck, 
Count 
of  the 
Empire. 

Baroness 
von 
Gohr. 

a 

o 

0 

Wilhelm  Augustin 

von  Steuben, 

Major  and  Knight  of  the 

Prussian  Ordre  pour 

le  Merite. 

Baron  von 

Effern 

auf 

Bellesheim 

Kaltenbruch. 

1*8 

o.S 

Louisa 
Catharina 
von  Hell. 

Augustin 

von  Steuben  and 

Schnaditz. 

lit 

mi 

o  a 

Ludwig 
von  Steuben, 
Knight  of  the 
Order  of  Malta. 

Ernst 

Nikolas 

von 

Steuben 

nnd 

Schiuulitz. 

KB 

SO 


C52  APPENDIX 


II. 


BENJAMIN    TRANKLIN    TO    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

Passy,  September  4th,  1777. 
Sir, — The  gentleman  who  will  have  the  honor  of  waiting  upon  you 
with  this  letter  is  the  Baron  De  Steuben,  lieutenant  general  in  the 
King  of  Prussia's  service,  whom  he  attended  in  all  his  campaigns,  being 
his  aid-de-camp,  quarter-master  general,  etc.  He  goes  to  America  with 
a  true  zeal  for  our  cause,  and  a  view  of  engaging  in  it  and  rendering  it 
all  the  service  in  his  power.  He  is  recommended  to  us  by  two  of  the 
best  judges  of  military  merit  in  this  country,  Messrs.  les  Comtes  De  Ver- 
gennes  et  De  St.  Germain,  who  have  long  been  personally  acquainted 
with  him,  and  interest  themselves  in  promoting  his  voyage  from  the  fall 
persuasion  that  the  knowledge  and  experience  he  has  acquired  by 
twenty  years'  study  and  practice  in  the  Prussian  school  may  be  of  great 
use  in  our  armies.  I,  therefore,  can't  but  recommend  him  warmly  to 
your  Excellency,  washing  that  our  service  may  be  made  agreeable  to 
him. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc.,  Franklin. 


III. 

RODERIQUE    nORTALEZ   (bEAUMAROHAIS)  TO  ROBERT  MORRIS,  FOR  CONGRESS. 

Paris,  September,  1777. 

Messieurs, — Le  temo'ignage  que  j'ai  l'honneur  de  vous  rendre  du 
merite  et  des  grands  talents  militaires  de  Mr.  le  baron  de  Steuben, 
marechal  de  la  cour  de  S.  A.  S.  le  prince  regnant  de  Hohenzollern  et  ci- 
devant  aide-de-camp  du  roi  de  Prusse,  aide  major  general  de  ses  armees, 
ajouterait  peu  de  chose  au  compte  qui  vous  en  est  rendu  par  MM.  Deane 
et  Franklin,  si  le  desir  de  les  en  instruire  moi-meme  ne  m'eut  mis  a 
portee  de  discuter  le  merite  de  cet  officier  avec  les  plus  grands  gdnd- 
raux  que  nous  ayons  et  si  l'hommage  neanmoins,  que  Ton  doit  a  ses 
connaissances  dans  l'art  de  la  guerre  n'avait  pas  engage  tous  les  grands 
personages  qui  vous  aiment  dans  ce  pays-ci,  de  se  joindre  a  moi  pour  le 
determiner  a  revenir  d'Allemagne,  ou  il  etait  retourne  apres  avoir  in- 
fructueusement  entretenu  vos  deputes. 

L'art  de  faire  la  guerre  avec  succes  etant  le  fruit  du  courage  combine 
avec  la  prudence,  les  lumieres  et  l'experience,  un  compagnon  d'armes  du 
grand  Frederic  et  qu'il  ne  l'a  pas  quitte  pendant  22  ans  nous  parait  a 
tous  un  des  hommes  les  plus  propres  a  seconder  Mr.  de  Washington 


APPENDIX.  05: 


pour  lequel  Mr.  le  baron  de  Steuben  a  la  plus  haute  consideration  et 
sous  les  drapeaux  du  quel  il  s'honore  de  servir  la  cause  de  la  liberte. 


IV. 

STEUBEN   TO   BARON   DE   FRANK,    AT   HECHINGEN. 

Camp  off  New  Windsoe,  ox  the  North  Eiveu,  July  4,  1779. 

This  is,  my  dear  friend,  the  fifth  letter  which  I  address  to  you  from 
this  part  of  the  world.  As  I  have  not  received  a  single  answer  to  the 
present  day,  I  am  afraid  that  my  letters  have  not  come  to  your  hand. 
Two  vessels,  in  which  I  sent  packages  for  Europe,  have  been  taken  by 
the  Eng'ish  ;  two  others,  carrying  letters  to  you  and  another  friend  of 
mine,  I  have  not  heard  from,  and  I  fear,  from  your  silence,  that  they 
too  have  been  lost.  This  letter  will  be  forwarded  by  Mr.  Gerard,  the 
minister  of  France,  and  as  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  reach  you,  I  will  re- 
peat, as  nearly  as  I  can,  all  that  I  said  to  you  in  detail  in  my  former 
letters. 

My  first  letter  to  you  was  written  at  Boston,  about  five  weeks  after 
my  arrival  on  this  continent.  It  contained  the  narrative  of  my  voyage, 
and  of  all  the  incidents  from  which  I  had  to  suffer.  A  better  descrip- 
tion of  a  storm  will  be  found  in  any  book  than  I  could  give.  I  will  only 
say  that  we  had  two  of  them,  very  violent — one  in  the  Mediterranean, 
off  the  African  coast,  the  other  off  the  coast  of  New  Caledonia.  Each 
lasted  three  days;  both,  and  especially  the  first,  damaged  so  much  our 
frigate  that  our  naval  officers  became  very  much  disheartened.  Add  to 
these  trifles,  that  the  forecastle  of  the  ship  was  three  times  on  fire,  that 
we  had  seventeen  hundredweight  of  gunpowder  on  board,  and  that  a 
mutiny  of  the  crew  made  it  necessary  for  us  to  fight,  fourteen  against 
eighty-four,  in  order  to  secure  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels ;  and,  also,  that  it 
took  sixty-six  days,  in  the  most  dangerous  season,  to  make  the  passage 
— and  you  will  imagine  that  this  voyage  was  one  of  the  hardest  ever 
known. 

The  more  disastrous,  however,  the  passage,  the  more  flattering  was 
my  arrival  in  America.  We  arrived  on  the  1st  of  December,  1777,  at 
Portsmouth,  the  capital  of  New  Hampshire.  Before  entering  the  port, 
I  ordered  my  secretary  to  go  ashore  in  a  boat,  and  to  inform  the  com- 
mander of  the  place  of  my  arrival.  General  Langdon,  the  commander, 
came  on  board  himself,  to  take  me  and  my  officers  ashore  in  his  boat. 
While  we  were  landing,  we  were  saluted  by  the  guns  from  the  fortress, 
and  from  all  the  ships  in  the  port.  Several  thousand  of  the  inhabitants 
welcomed  me  in  the  most  flattering  manner.  Mr.  Langdon  took  us  to 
his  house  to  dine ;   in  the  meantime,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 


S54  APPENDIX. 

crowded  together  u  to  see  the  elephant,"  (as  the  German  poet,  Gellert, 
in  his  fables,  says.) 

Although  exhausted  by  the  hardships  of  the  voyage,  I  went  the  next 
day  to  examine  the  fortifications ;  on  the  following  day  I  reviewed  the 
troops  of  the  garrison,  and  on  the  fourth  day  I  set  out  for  Boston,  by 
land. 

The  reception  at  Boston  was  as  flattering  to  me  as  that  at  Ports- 
mouth. I  met  there  the  celebrated  Mr.  Hancock,  formerly  president  of 
Congress.  He  communicated  to  me  an  order  of  Congress  that  every 
preparation  should  be  made  to  make  me  and  my  suite  comfortable  on 
the  journey  to  Yorktown,  Avhere  the  Congress  was  then  in  session.  Mr. 
Hancock  himself,  with  great  care,  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements. 
Carriages,  sleighs,  and  saddle-horses  were  procured  ;  five  negroes  were 
assigned  to  us  as  grooms  and  drivers,  also  an  agent  to  prepare  quarters 
and  procure  provisions.  As  I  had  left  Paris  with  only  one  servant  and 
a  cook,  I  engaged  two  English  servants  as  field  equipage  for  me  and  my 
officers.  While  at  Boston  I  wrote  you  my  first  letter,  and  enclosed  in 
it  a  letter  to  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern-Hechingen. 

The  arrangements  of  my  equipage  detained  me  more  than  five  weeks 
in  Boston,  so  that  I  could  not  set  out  for  Yorktown  before  the  14th  of 
January.  I  was  received  there  with  the  most  distinguished  attentions. 
A  house  was  reserved  for  my  use,  and  a  guard  of  honor  placed  before 
the  door.  The  day  after  my  arrival,  Congress  inquired,  through  a  com- 
mittee of  three  members,  the  terms  on  which  I  proposed  to  enter  the 
service.  My  answer  was,  that  I  had  no  wish  to  make  any  arrange- 
ments or  terms ;  that  I  wished  to  make  the  campaign  as  a  volunteer, 
desiring  neither  rank  nor  pay  for  myself,  and  only  commissions  for  the 
officers  of  my  suite.  This  was  agreed  to  by  Congress,  as  I  had  expect- 
ed. A  resolution  of  thanks,  in  the  most  obliging  terms,  was  returned, 
with  an  offer  of  defraying  all  my  expenses.  My  officers  received  their 
commissions,  and  even  my  secretary  was  gratified  with  the  rank  and 
the  pay  of  a  captain. 

I  will  here  observe,  that  in  the  military  organization  of  the  States, 
the  highest  rank  is  that  of  major  general.  General  Washington  is  the 
oldest  major  general,  being  at  the  same  time  invested,  in  his  quality  of 
commander-in-chief,  with  all  the  privileges  of  a  general  field  marshal 
in  Europe.  His  authority  is  as  unlimited  as  that  of  a  Stadtholder  in 
Holland  can  be.  The  other  major  generals,  whose  number  does  not  at 
present  surpass  nine,  are  the  commanders  of  corps,  armies,  wings  and 
divisions.  Major  General  Gates  is  commander  of  the  northern  army, 
General  Lincoln  of  the  southern  army,  and  General  Sullivan  of  the 
forces  against  the  Indians.  All  are  under  the  orders  of  the  commander- 
in-chief.  The  second  rank  is  that  of  a  general  of  brigade.  They  are 
the  commanders  of  brigades,  like  the  major  generals  in  European  armies. 


APPENDIX.  655 

Upon  my  arrival  in  the  camp,  I  was  again  the  object  of  more  hon- 
ors than  I  was  entitled  to.  General  Washington  came  several  miles  to 
meet  me  on  the  road,  and  accompanied  me  to  my  quarters,  where  I 
found  an  officer  with  twenty-five  men  as  a  guard  of  honor.  When  I 
declined  this,  saying  that  I  wished  to  be  considered  merely  as  a  volun- 
teer, the  general  answered  me  in  the  politest  words,  that  u  The  whole 
army  would  be  gratified  to  stand  sentinel  for  such  volunteers."  He  in- 
troduced me  to  Major  General  Stirling  and  several  other  generals.  Lieu- 
tenant Colonels  Ternant  and  Major  Walker  were  both  appointed  by 
Congress  as  my  adjutant  generals.  On  the  same  day  my  name  was 
given  as  watchword.  The  following  day  the  army  was  mustered,  and 
General  Washington  accompanied  me  to  review  it.  To  be  brief,  if 
Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  or  the  greatest  field  marshal  of  Eu- 
rope, had  been  in  my  place,  he  could  not  have  been  received  with 
greater  marks  of  honor  than  I  was. 

My  service  as  volunteer  did  not  last  longer  than  five  weeks,  in  the 
course  of  which  I  disciplined  and  drilled  the  army  and  introduced  sev- 
eral regulations,  which  were  so  highly  approved  that  on  the  27th  of 
April  I  was  appointed  major  general,  and  received  the  commission  as 
inspector  general  of  all  the  armies.  My  pay  was  fixed  to  16,400  francs 
(about  $3,300) ;  besides  that,  all  the  expenses  of  my  service  and  table 
are  to  be  provided  for  by  a  special  agent.  Congress  has  ordered  for 
my  personal  service  twenty-two  horses,  and  for  my  guard  one  captain 
of  horse,  two  lieutenants  and  forty  dragoons.  Besides  these,  my  adju- 
tants and  officers  receive,  according  to  their  rank,  provisions  for  men 
and  horses.  Two  adjutant  generals,  two  adjutant  inspectors,  receiving 
their  pay  from  Congress,  are  placed  under  my  orders ;  and  moreover, 
Major  Des  Epiniers,  a  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Beaumarchais,  and  the 
Marquis  De  Brittine,  major  in  this  army,  are  my  adjutants. 

The  more  flattering  such  distinctions  must  appear,  the  more  sa- 
cred are  my  obligations  to  make  myself  worthy  of  them.  As  far  as 
my  bodily  and  mental  powers  avail,  I  will  exert  myself  incessantly  to 
promote  the  accomplishment  of  the  desire  of  a  nation  which  has  hon- 
ored me  with  such  unlimited  confidence.  No  difficulty,  no  pain,  no 
danger  can  or  shall  check  my  energy  or  zeal.  The  sphere  of  my  activ- 
ity is  immense ;  about  the  eighth  part  of  the  world  will  be  benefit- 
ed by  the  success  of  our  cause.  Thanks  be  to  God,  there  is  every 
reason  to  be  confident  of  it.  I  should  be  happy  to  die  for  a  nation  that 
has  placed  such  confidence  in  me.  Thus  far  will  my  exertions  have 
been  successful,  and  I  may  well  say  that  the  confidence  of  the  army  in 
me  is  increasing  every  day.  At  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  last  year,  I 
commanded  on  the  left  wing  of  the  first  line,  and  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  decide  the  day  to  our  advantage.  And  in  all  the  skirmishes 
of  the  last  and  the  present  campaign,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  every 


656  APPENDIX. 

soldier  was  full  of  bravery  when  fighting  under  my  command.  Last 
winter  I  drew  up  the  ordinance  regulating  the  infantry  and  cavalry, 
which  was  immediately  adopted  and  published. 

Congress  expressed  their  satisfaction  in  a  highly  complimentary 
letter,  published  in  all  the  papers,  and  made  me  a  present  of  two  fine 
English  horses  and  a  sum  of  $4,000.  Every  one  of  my  adjutants,  and 
even  of  my  secretaries,  received  a  gratification.  I  passed  the  winter 
in  Philadelphia.  On  the  4th  of  January  Congress  appointed  me  a  mem- 
ber of  the  War  Department.  On  the  26th  of  March  I  set  out  to  join 
the  army.  During  my  stay  at  Philadelphia,  I  became  very  intimate 
with  Mr.  Gerard,  the  French  minister,  whose  departure  for  Europe  I 
very  much  regretted.  He  honored  me  with  a  visit  in  the  camp,  where 
he  came  expressly  for  that  purpose.  He  was  received  with  all  the  hon- 
ors of  an  ambassador.  On  the  day  after  his  arrival,  I  ordered  a  ma- 
neuver with  eight  regiments  of  infantry  and  sixteen  guns.  After  this 
military  display,  he,  in  company  with  the  commander-in-chief,  and  all 
the  other  generals  and  colonels,  more  than  sixty  persons,  partook  of  a 
dinner  in  my  quarters. 

I  am  now  making  a  tour  to  inspect  all  the  regiments  and  to  intro- 
duce the  regulations  adopted  in  my  ordinance.  Every  thing  passes  on 
very  Avell.  I  am  now  the  fifth  general  in  rank ;  the  prospect  is  indeed 
bright  enough  to  gratify  any  ambition,  unless,  perhaps,  a  fever  or  half 
an  ounce  of  lead  interrupt  my  course.  After  two  or  three  years'  toil 
and  exertion,  dear  friend,  we  shall  meet,  perhaps,  in  Paris,  and  settle 
the  point  whether  we  shall  live  together  in  Europe  or  in  America.  0, 
dearest  friend,  why  have  we  thus  idled  away  our  time  ?  Two  years' 
labor,  in  disregard  of  danger  and  hardship,  may  open  a  fair  prospect  to 
a  man  of  energy !  Experience  has  proved  it,  and  I  can't  forgive  my- 
self my  former  indolence. 

What  a  beautiful,  what  a  happy  country  this  is !  Without  kings, 
without  prelates,  without  blood-sucking  farmers  of  the  revenue,  and 
without  a  lazy  nobility  !  Here  every  one  feels  happy.  Poverty  is  an 
unknown  evil.  It  would  be  too  circumstantial  to  give  you  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  happiness  of  this  people  ! 

Please  hand  the  inclosed  packet  to  the  most  excellent  of  princes, 
and  tell  him  that  I  could  not  feel  perfectly  happy  before  having  given 
him  convincing  proofs  of  my  gratitude.  My  manifold  duties,  and  the 
insecurity  of  the  sea,  have  prevented  me  from  doing  it  until  now.  Be- 
fore starting  from  Philadelphia,  however,  I  have  given  orders  to  a  cer- 
tain Mr.  Robert  Morris,  to  make  a  complete  collection  of  all  the  trees  in 
North  America — there  are  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  sorts  of 
them — and  to  send  three  or  four  of  each  sort  to  the  address  of  Mr. 
Gerard,  at  Paris,  next  fall,  who  has  promised  to  forward  the  collections 
to  Strassburg,  and  to  inform  his  Highness  of  the  matter.     A  like  collec- 


APPENDIX.  657 

tion  was  forwarded  this  spring  to  the  King  of  France,  by  the  same  Mr. 
Bobert  Morris. 

I  told  you  that  I  could  employ  Mr.  Schleitheim,  although  it  is  dif- 
ficult, without  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  to  succeed  in  the 
service.  I  have  become  pretty  well  acquainted  with  it  myself.  To 
confess  the  truth,  however,  I  must  tell  you  that  six  foreign  officers  here 
give  me  more  trouble  than  two  hundred  American  ones.  Most  of  the 
foreigners  have  already  lost  all  credit,  and  it  becomes  from  day  to  day 
more  difficult  to  engage  any  foreign  officer.  A  considerable  number  of 
German  barons  and  French  marquises  have  left  the  country,  and  I  al- 
ways feel  uneasy  when  a  baron  or  a  marquis  is  introduced.  We  are 
living  in  a  republic,  dear  friend — here  the  baron  is  not  a  farthing  more 
valued  than  Master  Jacob  or  Mister  John  is,  and  such  a  state  of 
things  is  very  unpalatable  to  the  taste  of  a  German  or  French  baron. 
Our  general  of  artillery  was  formerly  a  book-binder  at  Boston,  a  worthy 
man,  who  understands  his  business  perfectly  well,  and  fulfills  his  duties 
very  commendably. 

The  Baron  De  Kalb  and  myself  are  now  the  only  German  generals 
in  the  American  army,  and  Kalb,  who  has  a  yearly  income  of  30,000 
francs,  in  France,  will  resign  at  the  end  of  the  present  campaign. 

To  conclude  with  my  plans,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  think  of  the 
future.  Either  I  shall  see  the  end  of  the  war  in  the  service,  or  perish 
by  it.  I  do  not  think  England  will  be  able  to  play  the  game  for  two 
years  longer.  After  it  has  been  fought  out  my  duty  will  be  to  organize 
the  army  and  militia  on  the  same  footing  in  all  the  States.  After  that 
I  shall  settle  my  accounts  with  Congress.  All  this  can  be  accomplished 
by  three  years'  exertion,  provided  life  and  health  do  not  fail — perseve- 
rance, energy  and  courage  will  never  fail.  And  should  all  this  be  ac- 
complished, I  will  meet  you  in  Europe,  dear  friend,  and  we  shall  de- 
cide whether  we  shall  in  future  dine  in  Paris  or  in  Philadelphia. 

V. 

JOHN  TERNANT  TO  STEUBEN. 

Camp  sue  les  boeds  t>u  Ogoiieeciiee,  November  28, 1778. 

Malgre  tous  mes  efforts  et  ma  diligence,  je  n'ai  pu  me  rendre  a 
Charleston  que  le  18  de  ce  mois.  J'avais  a  peine  commence  a  me  fa- 
miliariser  avec  les  importants  du  pays  et  a  songer  serieusement  aux 
travaux  de  ma  mission  lorsqu'on  re9ut  la  nouvelle  de  l'invasion  de  la 
Georgie  pour  une  partie  des  troupes  de  la  Floride  sous  les  ordres  des 
Colonels  Prescot  et  Fuser.  Nous  parti  mes  la  meme  nuit  avec  le  Gen- 
eral Howe  pour  nous  rendre  a  grandes  journees  a  l'endroit  ou  le  danger 
'paraissait  le  plus   imminent   et  nous  arrivames  hier  matin  au  camp 

28* 


658  APPENDIX. 

Americain  forme  et  retranche  a.  la  tete  d'une  defilee  oii  on  se  proposait 
d'arreter  les  raouvements  de  l'ennemi.  Nous  apprimes  le  meme  jour 
que  les  Anglais  se  retiraieut  et  cette  nouvelle  se  confirmait  ce  matin.  Je 
profite  d'un  moment  de  loisir  pour  vous  donner  une  idee  de  notre  situ- 
ation, et  de  la  politique  civile  et  militairo  des  G-eorgiens,  etc.  C'est 
toujours  celle  des  Americains  et  vous  connaissez  deja  leur  maniere 
de  guerroyer  dans  le  nord;  mais  dans  ces  contrees  meridionales  on 
l'emporte  de  beaucoup  en  negligence,  lenteur  et  confusion.  Depuis  le 
commencement  de  la  guerre  les  Floridiens  n'ont  cesse  de  faire  des  in- 
vasions dans  cet  etat  et  de  retrecir  annuellement  ses  limites.  lis 
s'etaient  enfin  empares  de  tout  ce  qui  est  au  sudouest  de  la  riviere 
Altamaha,  y  avaient  etabli  des  postes  et  menacaient  de  la  le  reste  de  la 
Georgie  d'une  invasion  certaine,  lorsque  l'ete  dernier  le  General  Howe 
avec  les  troupes  continentales  et  le  gouverneur  de  cet  etat  avec  ses 
milices  sans  aucune  preparation  se  porterent  sur  l'ennemi,  lui  en  impo- 
serent  je  ne  sais  comment  et  le  forcerent,  ou  pour  mieux  dire,  le  decide- 
rent  a  se  replier  de  poste  en  poste  jusqu'a  la  frontiere  primitive.  L'in- 
clemence  et  l'insalubrite  de  ces  climats  dans  les  chaleurs  caniculaires,  les 
disputes  aussi  vehementes  que  minutieuses  sur  le  commandement 
supreme  entre  le  jurisconsulte  Houston,  gouverneur  de  la  Georgie,  et  le 
General  Howe,  la  negligence,  la  lenteur  et  l'esprit  d'indecision  qui 
caracterise  les  Americains,  furent  plus  fatales  a.  ces  deux  armees  inimico- 

alliees  que  ne  l'»ut  ete  le  feu  ou  le  fer  de  l'ennemi Apres  s'etre 

avance  jusqu'a  la  riviere  St.  Mary,  avoir  eprouve  toutes  les  miseres  et  les 
horreurs  domestiques  de  la  guerre  et  avoir  perdu  la  moitie  de  leur 
monde  sans  tirer  un  coup  de  canon,  ils  furent  obliges  de  se  retirer  et 
d' abandon ner  de  relief  a  l'ennemi  tout  ce  qu'il  possedait  deja  de  l'autre 
cote  de  la  riviere  Altamaha.  Apres  cette  expedition  sans  fruit  et  sans 
objet  certain,  tout  semblait  indiquer  la  necessity  d'etablir  des  postes  et 
des  lignes  sur  cette  riviere,  d'en  occuper  l'embouchure  pour  se  mettre  a 
l'abris  de  nouvelles  entreprises  de  l'ennemi ;  on  y  etait  de  plus  interesse 
que  les  provinces  les  plus  fertiles  de  cet  etat  se  trouvaient  entre  1' Alta- 
maha et  la  riviere  Ogoheechee Mais  les   puissants  du  pays, 

portant  perruques  et  uniformes  en  deciderent  contre  nous.  Sous  pretext 
de  se  defendre  contre  les  sauvages  on  degarnit  la  frontiere  de  1' Altamaha 
et  on  laissa  le  pays  absolument  ouvert  aux  depredations  du  moindre 
aventurier ;  et  pour  ne  laisser  aux  Floridiens  aucun  objet  de  crainte  on 
cantonna  le  peu  de  troupes  reglees  qui  restaient  a  l'etat  dans  la  ville  de 
Savannah  et  a  Augusta.  L'ennemi  profita  de  ce  moment  favorable  et 
enfin  s'avanea  en  5  jours  jusqu'a  la  riviere  Ogoheechee  qui  n'est  qu'a  15 
milles  de  la  capitale.  Apres  un  succes  aussi  grand  on  est  assez  embar- 
rasse  d'imaginer  quel  peut  etre  le  sujet  de  leur  retraite  et  encore  plus 
quel  pourrait  e"tre  l'objet  de  leur  expedition;  s'ils  n'avaient  en  vue  que 
de  fourrager  ils  s'en  sont,  on  ne  peut  pas  mieux,  acquitted.     Quoiqu'il  en 


APPENDIX.  659 

soit,  nous  n'avons  a  leur  opposer  actuellement  dans  ce  camp  que  150 
hommes  tout-au-plus,  sans  l'espoir  de  recevoir  le  moindre  renfort  avant 
7  ou  8  jours.  Nos  renforts  viennent  d' Augusta  et  de  la  Caroline,  qui  n'a 
pas  elle-meme  plus  de  12-1400  hommes  pour  le  defense  de  ses  cotes, 
de  sorte  que  toutes  nos  ressources  epuisees,  nous  ne  pouvons  rassembler 
dans  notre  camp  que  500-600  hommes  ....  or  jugez  de  1' impor- 
tance de  mon  inspection  et  de  la  securite  precaire  de  l'etat  de  la  G-eorgie 
au  cas  que  l'ennemi  songe  serieusement  a  s'en  emparer.  Le  general 
parait  avoir  beaucoup  de  confiance  en  moi  et  je  m'eftbrcerai  plus  que 
jamais  d'etre  utile.  Aussitot  que  nos  troupes  se  trouveront  un  peu 
rassemblees  je  leur  donnerai  une  organisation  militaire  d'apres  nos  prin- 
cipes. 

VI. 

Camp  de  Paeisuueg,  Ga.,  January  20,  1779. 

Je  vois  cependant  (de  votre  lettre  du  10  Octobre)  avec  chagrin  que 
l'envie  et  la  mechancete  continuent  toujours  a  vous  traverser  et  a  rendre 
inutiles  a  la  republique  votre  experience,  vos  talents  et  votre  bonne 
volonte.  Le  seul  remede  a  ce  mal  est  votre  presence  a  Philadelphia. 
Vous  connaissez  assez  le  coeur  humain  pour  en  sentir  la  necessite  et  je 
vois  avec  plaisir  que  vous  etes  decides  a  aller  passer  une  partie  de  votre 
quartier  d'hiver  dans  cette  capitale.  Je  me  bornerai  dans  mes  lettres  a 
ce  qui  est  relatif  a  la  place  que  j'occupe. 

J'ai  attendu  pendant  longtemps  et  toujours  en  vain  votre  collection 
de  reglements  sur  la  discipline  et  la  tactique  elementaire.  J'avais  com- 
mence d'abord  a  introduire  le  pas,  mais  frappe  des  defauts  essentiels 
que  je  remarquais  tous  les  jours  dans  les  parties  les  plus  importantes  du 
service,  et  presse  d'un  autre  cote  par  les  officiers  et  le  general-en-chef,  il 
a  fallu  me  decider  a  rediger  les  instructions  sur  les  objets  principalis  en 
me  conformant  en  tout  a  vos  principes  et  a  vos  lecons.  Voici  la 
marche  que  j'ai  suivie. 

J'ai  explique  d'abord  la  formation  des  troupes  en  general  et  la 
maniere  d'organiser  un  bataillon,  comme  devant  servir  de  base  a  tous 
les  mouvements  de  la  tactique ;  j'ai  passe  de  la  au  service  des  gardes  que 
j'ai  detaille  dans  tous  ses  points ;  l'ordre  de  marche  et  de  campement 
ont  ensuite  attire  mon  attention  et  j'ai  fait  en  sorte  de  ne  rien  laisser  a 
desirer  sur  ces  deux  objets ;  l'exercise  et  les  manoeuvres  se  sont  pre- 
senters apres ;  j'ai  introduit  les  changemens  que  vous  avez  faits  dans 
le  maniement  des  armes,  etc.  J'ai  explique  la  nature,  la  cluree  et 
l'etendue  du  pas  ordinaire  et  du  pas  redouble,  j'en  ai  fait  voir  l'usage 
et  les  modifications  dans  les  differentes  marches  et  conversions  ele- 
mentaires,  les  changemens  de  front,  les  formations  des  colonnes,  leurs 
marches,  conversions  et  deployement,  et  j'ai  termine  par  l'ordre  de  feux. 


GGO  APPENDIX. 

Ccs  instructions  entitlement  redigees  d'apres  vos  principes  ont  ete 
presentees  au  General  Howe  qui  vient  de  nous  quitter  et  ensuite  au 
General  Lincoln,  aupres  duquel  j'ai  fait  ce  que  j'ai  pu  pour  en  hater 
l'execution ;  il  en  a  lu  ct  approuve  une  partie  et  il  me  promets  que  dans  peu 
de  jours  il  achevra  de  lire  le  reste  et  prendre  des  mesures  en  consequence. 
II  croit  apercevoir  des  difficultes  dans  la  formation  des  troupes  re- 
lativement  aux  regiments  et  ii  leurs  offieiers.  Quant  a  moi  je  n'en  vois 
nulle,  surtout  si  cette  formation  n'a  lieu  que  pour  l'ordre  de  campement, 
de  marche  et  de  bataille,  car  alors  si  absolument  on  ne  peut  faire  autre- 
ment,  I'etat  major  et  les  offieiers  de  chaque  regiment  se  peuvent 
charger  chacun  du  soin  de  leurs  homines  sans  egard  a.  cette  formation, 
mais  on  sera  toujours  force  de  convenir  que  sans  elle  tout  ce  qui  a  rap- 
port a.  la  discipline  interieure  ou  a  l'economie  domestique  du  militaire 
devient  complique,  confus  et  incertain 

Je  ferai  a  cet  egard  tout  ce  que  je  pourrai  pour  plaire  a  tout  le  monde 
et  concilier  mon  devoir  a  cette  complaisance.  C'est  tres  faussement, 
qu'on  vous  a  represente  les  troupes  du  sud  comme  etant  dans  un  meil- 
leur  ordre  que  celles  du  Nord.  Je  puis  vous  assurer  que  le  mcme 
desordre  et  la  nieme  confusion  y  regnent,  et  que  j'aurai  toujours  a  lutter 
contre  les  inemes  difficultes  qui  nous  ont  arretes  a  Valley  Forge,  jusqu'a 
ce  qu'un  plan  quelconque  relatif  a  ce  departement  soit  adopte  et  que  les 
devoirs,  obligations  et  les  pouvoirs  attaches  a  la  place  d'inspecteur  soient 

clairement  determines A  400  homines  pres  toute  notre  armee 

n'est  composee  que  de  recrues  et  de  milices.  Je  n'ai  pas  encore  pu 
parvenir  a  me  faire  nommer  des  inspecteurs  de  brigade.  lis  vont  etre 
appointes  incessamment  et  pour  lors  je  mettrai  et  conserverai  reguliere- 
ment  toute  la  machine  en  mouvement.  Les  deux  invasions  de  la 
Georgie  dans  un  si  court  espace  de  temps  et  les  affaires  tant  heureuses 
que  malhcureuses  et  deroutantes  auxquelles  elles  ont  donne  lieu,  nous 
ont  toujours  tenu  en  mouvement  par  monts  et  par  eaux,  ou  pour  mieux 
dire,  par  deserts  et  marais  (car  on  ne  voit  que  cela  dans  ce  pays),  et  ce 
n'est  que  depuis  dix  jours  que  nous  avons  commence  a  nous  rassembler 
a  Parisburg.  Dans  toutes  nos  operations  j'ai  tache  de  soutenir  le  decorum 
de  votre  inspecteur  du  mieux  qu'il  m'a  ete  possible.  Je  laisse  au  Gen- 
dral  Howe  de  vous  parler  de  ma  conduite  en  Georgie,  lorsque  vous  le 
verrez  a  Philadelphia. 

Je  vous  dirai  seulement  un  mot  de  mon  debut  avec  le  General  Lin- 
coln. En  arrivant  a  Parisburg  j'ai  trouve  les  troupes  nouvellement 
arrivees  de  la  Caroline,  campees  d'une  maniere  si  irreguliere,  quoique 
d'apres  les  instructions  de  1'ingenieur-en-chef,  que  je  ne  pus  m'empecher, 
apres  avoir  reconnu  les  lieux,  de  faire  mon  rapport  en  consequence  au 
general-en-chef,  et  de  proposer  un  changement  dans  le  camp  et  dans  la 
maniore  de  camper.     II  fut  done  ordonne  au  D.  Qr.  Mr.  General  de 


APPENDIX.  661 

prendre  ses  instructions  de  l'inspecteur,  et  de  fixer  et  former  le  camp 
conformement  a  son  plan ;  j'ai  preside  moi-meme  a  toute  la  besogne. 
J'offris  ensuite  au  general-en-chef  pour  le  mettre  a  l'abri  de  toute  incer- 
titude dans  un  temps  oh  il  importait  de  connaitre  au  juste  ses  ressources, 
de  passer  ses  troupes  en  revue,  ce  qu'il  accepta,  et  il  fut  ordonne  le  len- 
demain  aux  differents  regiments  de  se  tenir  prets  pour  la  revue  de  l'in- 
specteur. En  general  je  suis  assez  content  de  la  maniere  dont  il  me  traite 
et  j'en  augure  beaucoup  de  bien  pour  l'avenir.  II  me  tarde  bien  de 
recevoir  vos  instructions  et  encore  plus  de  commencer  a  discipliner  cette 
troupe  informe  qui  compose  a  present  notre  armee — Thiver  est  le  seul 
temps  dans  ce  pays  pour  les  operations  et  les  travaux  de  la  guerre*  mais 
ma  sante  s'accommode  si  peu  de  ce  climat  que  l'hiver  ne  me  mets  pas  m£me 
a  l'abri  des  fievre.  Je  suis  force  d'avaler  soir  et  matin  force  quinquina 
pour  m'en  garantir,  or  jugez  de  ce  qu'il  m'est  reserve  pendant  l'ete. 


YII. 

Charleston,  January  26, 1T79. 

Mr.  Senf  (capitaine  porteur  de  cette  lettre)  fera  vous  voir  les 

plans  de  nos  camps  et  de  notre  affaire  it  Savannah.  Quoique  ingenieur  de 
profession,  c'est  un  garcon  d'un  merite  infini  et  qui  serait  d'une  grande 
utilite  si  Ton  savait  tirer  parti  de  ses  talents;  mais  malheureusement 
dans  nos  armees  Americaines  nous  n'avons  point  l'activite  necessaire 
pour  profiter  des  ressources  abondantes  de  la  fortification  de  campagne, 
dont  cependant  nous  avons  le  plus  grand  besoin.  Tout  est  encore  ici 
dans  le  plus  grand  engourdissement ;  nous  rassemblons  nos  forces  de 
tous  cotes ;  2,000  hommes  de  recrues  et  de  milice  de  la  Caroline  du 
Nord  viennent  de  quitter  Charleston  pour  se  rendre  a  notre  camp. 
Assez  de  besogne  pour  votre  inspecteur.  II  est  assez  difficile  de  divi- 
ner quelles  sont  les  vues  de  l'ennemi — je  suis  tente  de  croire,  qu'ils  n'en 
ont  pas  de  bien  decidees  et  qu'ils  font  la  guerre  a  peu  pres  cornme  les 
enfants  voyent  au  jour  la  joumee ;  ils  auraient  sans  doute  beaucoup  il 
faire,  jamais  guerriers  n'eurent  un  plus  vaste  champ  ouvert  a  leurs 
speculations  ni  plus  de  moyens  de  les  accomplir ;  mais  je  crois  que  leur 
ignorance  dans  les  affaires  militaires  egale  leur  orgueil  et  leur  hauteur, 
et  je  ne  m'attends  a  peu  de  bien  merveilleux  de  leur  part — au  reste  le 
temps  devoilera  tout. 

Francy  me  marque  que  vous  etes  arrive  a  Philadelphia  plus  me- 
content  que  jamais,  quelle  peut  done  en  etre  la  raison  ?  L' agent  du 
Congres  m'a  dit  ce  matin  que  le  General  Washington  etait  aussi  a 
Philadelphia,  que  le  marquis  de  Lafayette  etait  alle  en  France  par  conge, 
que  notre  ami  Laurens   s'etait  battu  avec   le  General  Lee,  etc.     Je 


GC2  APPENDIX. 

compte  que  votre  presence  fera  un  bien  inflni  a,  tout  ce  qui  est  relatif 
a,  l'inspection.  II  est  grand  temps  d'en  venir  a  une  determination  finale, 
et  je  vous  conjure  par  vous,  par  vos  amis  et  par  l'interet  que  vous 
prenez  a  la  constitution  militaire  des  Etatfi  Unis  de  ne  point  quitter  Phila- 
delphia que  le  Congres  n'ait  mis  la  derniere  main  a  cet  ouvrage. 


VIII. 

Camp  de  Parisburg,  6  de  Mars,  1779. 
Malgre  mon  gout  decide  pour  la  guerre,  l'inspection  des  troupes  con- 
federates du  departement  du  sud  m'ennuye  singulierement.  Je  suis  a 
900  milles  de  vous,  votre  derniere  lettre  m'est  parvenue  le  10  Octobre. 
Toutes  les  instructions  relatives  a  la  tactique  et  a  la  discipline,  dont  j'ai 
eu  l'honneur  de  vous  rendre  compte  dans  une  derniere  lettre,  ont  enfin 
ete  donnees  il  y  a  environs  un  mois,  sous  la  sanction  du  general,  copiees 
et  entendues  tant  bien  que  mal  par  les  officiers  et  executees  a  peu  pres 
de  meme.  J'ai  un  homme  employe  a  en  faire  une  copie  exacte  et  aus- 
sitot  qu'elle  sera  finie  j'aurai  soin  de  vous  l'envoyer  et  de  vous  instruire 
plus  particulierement  de  tout  ce  qui  regarde  votre  aride  departement 
du  sud.  J'avais  d'abord  demande  des  inspecteurs  de  brigade,  mais 
m'apercevant  que  l'objet  etait  sur  le  point  d'eprouver  des  difficultes,  va 
que  je  ne  voulais  point  consentir  qu'on  donne  cette  place  a  des  cap- 
taines,  j'ai  pris  un  biais  qui  m'a  reussi  et  que  j'espere  que  vous  approuve- 
rez.  J'ai  cesse  de  parler  d'inspecteurs  de  brigade  et  apres  avoir  repre- 
sents au  general  que  les  majors  de  l'armee  etaient  dans  tout  le  temps 
charges  et  responsables  de  la  discipline  des  corps,  je  les  ai  tous  convo- 
ques  dans  mon  quartier  pour  leur  donner  et  leur  expliquer  les  instruc- 
tions. Je  leur  ai  ordonne  ensuite  de  rassembler  dans  leurs  tentes  les 
officiers  des  differents  regiments  a  fin  de  leur  communiquer ;  de  la  j'ai 
exerce  tout  le  corps  des  officiers  avant  de  rien  entreprendre  avec  le 
gros  de  l'armee  et  dans  tout  le  reste  de  la  bcsogne  j'ai  fait  faire  journelle- 
ment  a  chacun  des  majors  par  rotation  le  service  d'inspecteur  de  bri- 
gade tant  a  l'exercice  qu'a  la  parade Les  malheurs  du 

temps  et  les  mernes  inconvenients  qui  nous  arreterent  souvent  a  Valley 
Forge  m'ont  empeche*  d'avancer  dans  cette  entreprise  aussi  rapidement 
que  je  le  desirais  et  qu'il  semblait  etre  necessaire.  Je  compte  cepen- 
dant  dans  peu  de  jours  faire  executor  a  notre  petite  armee  quelques  dis- 
positions de  marche,  d'attaque  et  de  retraite,  oil  je  ferai  voir  en  gros 
l'usage  et  l'application  des  differentes  manoeuvres  que  nous  avons  jus- 
qu'a  present  practiquees  separement.  Apres  cela  jecroirai  avoir  rempli 
l'objet  que  j'ai  entrepris,  si  non  pleinement  au  moins  autant  qu'il  etait 
en  mon  pouvoir;  et  comme  il  parait  que  le  Congres  ne  se   propose 


APPENDIX 


663 


point  de  donner  a  ce  departement  l'organisation  que  son  importance 
exige,  que  les  climats  meridionaux  ne  s'accordent  point  du  tout  avec  ma 
sante  je  demanderai  serieusement  la  permission  de  me  retirer. 


IX. 

Camp  Dk  Stono  Swamps,  4  Juin,  1779. 

J'ai  appris  avec  un  plaisir  infini  que  vous  etes  occupe  serieusement 
de  la  redaction  et  de  l'impression  d'une  ordonnance  de  discipline  et  de 
tactique  pour  l'infanterie.  Mais  je  n'ai  pu  voir  avec  la  meme  satisfac- 
tion les  resolves  informes  que  vous  avez  bien  voulu  m'envoyer  sur  le 
departement  de  l'inspecteur — vous  aurez  sans  doute  senti  encore  mieux 
que  moi  leurs  defauts  et  leur  insuffisance,  et  ce  serait  perdre  du  temps 
que  de  vous  en  parler.  J'ai  attendu  jusqu'a  present  votre  ordonnance, 
dans  la  vue  de  la  mettre  en  pratique  et  d'en  etablir  l'execution  sur  des 
fondemens  aussi  solides  que  notre  armee  le  comportait ;  mais  le  mau- 
vais  e"tat  de  ma  sante  va  enfm  me  forcer  de  quitter  ce  departement 
en  depit  de  l'ardent  desir  que  j'ai  d'introduire  moi-meme  cette  ordon- 
nance. Le  General  Lincoln  vient  de  recevoir  la  permission  de  se  re- 
tirer, et  il  m'invite  a  entreprendre  la  route  de  Philadelphia  avec  lui. 
Le  General  Moultrie  lui  succede  dans  le  commandement  et  aussitot  q.u'il 
se  sera  rendu  de  Charleston  au  camp  nous  partirons. 

Notre  armee  m'a  donne  des  peines  infinies  et  bien  peu  de  satisfac- 
tion ;  des  corps  de  milice  des  deux  Carolines,  de  la  Georgie  et  de  la  Vir- 
ginie  en  forment  les  trois  quarts.  Ces  milices  se  renouvellent  et  se 
modifient  sans  cesse ;  a  peine  pouvons  nous  conserver  les  memes  indivi- 
dus  un  mois  sous  nos  drapeaux,  et  trop  heureux  encore  lorsqu'ils  se 
succedent  sans  interruption.  Leurs  lois  militiennes  semblent  d'ailleurs 
n'avoir  ete*  faites  que  pour  les  soustraire  a,  toute  discipline,  les  peines  y 
sont  toutes  pecuniaires,  les  cours  martiales  qui  les  infligent  doivent  etre 
composees  de  3  soldats  et  de  2  officiers  et  ce  n'est  qu'apres  un  aver- 
tissement  de  dix  jours  que  l'on  peut  y  traduire  un  cnminel  etc.,  etc. 
Vous  devinerez  aisement  d'apres  cela  quels  peuvent  avoir  ete  mes  suc- 
ces  avec  cette  troupe  informe  a  laquelle  on  prostitua  le  nom  de  soldats 
et  de  citoyens.  Quant  a  nos  troupes  confederates  qui  forment  a  peu 
pres  le  quart  de  l'armee,  elles  ne  cessent  de  recevoir  des  recrues  qui  ne 
font  guerCs  que  de  remplir  les  vides  de  la  desertion — cequi  beaucoup  re- 
tarde  le  progres  de  la  discipline  et  de  la  tactique  dans  les  corps,  mais  je 
ne  doute  nullement,  que  la  nouvelle  ordonnance  imprimee  et  repandue 
parmi  ces  troupes  n'aie  le  plus  grand  succes. 


664  APPENDIX. 


Philadelphia,  August  282A,  1779. 

Colonel  Scammel's  appointment  gives  me  infinite  pleasure,  and  will 
no  doubt  greatly  benefit  the  department.  I  must  beg  leave  to  refer  you 
to  my  former  letters,  particularly  of  March  6tb,  April  7th,  and  June  15th, 
with  regard  to  the  state  of  the  troops  in  the  southern  department  to 
that  period.  I  was  then,  and  indeed  have  been  ever  since,  expecting 
daily  to  receive  the  printed  regulations  you  had  promised  to  send  me  by 
your  honor  of  the  2d  of  April ;  but  they  had  not  yet  reached  either  me 
or  General  Lincoln,  on  the  24th  of  July,  when  I  left  Charleston.  I  have 
even  reasons  to  believe  that  a  single  copy  has  not  yet  been  forwarded. 

The  militia  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  had  quitted  the  army 
and  were  to  be  relieved  by  other  bodies  of  militia,  which  had  not  yet 
been  drafted  when  I  passed  through  those  States.  Above  one  half  of 
General  Gates'  troops  were  still  at  Petersburg,  on  the  20th  instant. 
The  continental  troops  I  left  in  South  Carolina  were  but  few,  although 
the  regiments  many  ;  but  the  Assembly  who  were  to  meet  in  the  latter 
end  of  July,  will,  it  is  hoped,  either  fill  up  their  confederal  battalions  by 
drafts  of  their  militia,  or  raise  new  battalions  of  negroes,  according  to 
Lieutenant  Laurens'  plan,  in  which  case  the  old  regiments  will  be  re- 
duced and  organized  agreeably  to  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  regu- 
lations and  resolves  of  Congress,  and  by  that  means  furnish  supernu- 
merary officers  for  the  black  levies — in  short,  whatever  may  be  the 
measures  pursued,  as  it  will  take  some  time  to  collect  the  troops,  I  hope 
I  shall  have  time  enough  to  return  to  my  station  before  I  am  urgently 
wanted. 

I  have  not  made  lately  any  review  of  the  troops,  because  I  could 
not  do  it  officially  without  an  express  order  or  permission  of  General 
Lincoln,  which  he  did  not  think  necessary  at  that  time  to  give. 


XL 

Philadelphia,  September  30, 1779. 
Mon  Cher  General  (Private), — Je  viens  de  lire  avec  la  plus  grande 
satisfaction  la  lettre  que  vous  avez  bien  voulu  m'ecnre  de  New  Wind- 
sor. L'amitie  et  l'attachement  que  vous  m'y  temoignez,  me  penetrent 
des  sentimens  de  la  reconnaissance  et  de  la  reciprocity  la  plus  sincere.  J'ai 
songe,  plusieures  fois,  il  est  vrai,  a  me  retircr  du  service  des  Etats  Unis, 
et  mes  lettres  precedentes  ont  du  vous  instruire  amplement  des  raisons 
qui  m'y  engageaient.  Ma  mauvaise  sante  etait  une  des  principales,  et  une 
autre  non  moins  forte  que  celle-la  etaient  les  sacrifices  pecuniaires  que  je 
me  trouvais  oblige  de  faire  trop  disproportionnes  a  la  modicite  de  ma  for- 
tune— tnaia  {'augmentation  de  paye  que  le  Congres  vient  d'accorder  aux 


APPENDIX.  665 

officiers  ayant  remedie  en  quelque  sorte  a  ce  dernier  inconvenient  je  me 
suis  enfin  decide  a  pallier  les  autres  de  mon  mieux  par  la  patience  dont 
vous  m'avez  donne  l'exemple  et  par  toutes  les  precautions  qui  seront 
en  mon  pouvoir.  Je  n'aurais  d'ailleurs  pris  une  determination  finale 
qu'apres  vous  avoir  consulte  et  n'etre  procure  votre  consentement.  Vous 
avez  eu  trop  de  part  a  mon  entree  dans  la  carriere  militaire  pour 
qu'une  retraite  puisse  m'etre  agreable  sans  votre  approbation.  Je  vous 
repeterari  raeme  a  ce  sujet  ce  que  vous  eutes  de  la  peine  a  croire  dans  le 
terns  qu'il  ne  fallait  rien  moins  que  les  seduisantes  qualites  du  cceur  et 
de  l'esprit  qui  m'attacherent  a  vous  des  nos  premieres  entrevues,  et 
l'envie  d'etre  utile  aux  republiques  alors  naissantes  de  l'Amerique  pour 
me  decider  a  entreprendre  une  chose  dont  je  prevoyais  l'inconvenient 
et  embrasser  un  etat  auquel  je  m'etais  bien  promis  de  ne  plus  songer. 
La  partie  civile  que  j'avais  en  vue  en  quittant  l'Europe  m'eut  sans 
doute  mene  plus  loin.  Mais  si  j'ai  perdu  quelque  chose  de  ce  cote-la, 
j'aurai  au  moins  la  satisfaction  d'avoir  rempli  avec  quelque  succes  les 
devoirs  de  la  place  que  j'ai  occupee  et  surtout  d'avoir  su  meriter  votre 
estime  et  votre  amitie. 

II  ne  me  reste  plus  qu'une  chose  a  desirer  pour  me  rendre  l'in- 
spection  aussi  agreable  qu'elle  peut  l'etre  :  c'est  la  reunion  des  fonc- 
tions  de  Muster-Master  a  celle  d'Inspecteur.  Vous  vous  rappellerez 
sans  doute  que  j'ai  toujours  regarde  cette  reunion  comme  la  pierre  an- 
gulaire  et  la  seule  base  solide  sur  la  quelle  on  puisse  elever  l'edifice  de 
l'inspection  et  plus  j'y  songe  plus  j'en  sens  la  necessity.  Sans  cela  l'in- 
spection  se  reduit  a  un  etablissement  purement  ephemere  dont  l'objet 
ne  sera  jamais  bien  decide  et  perpetuellement  envisage  avec  un  ceil  de 
jalousie.  Redoublez  done  vos  efforts  mon  cher  General  pour  que  cette 
reunion  ait  bientot  lieu  et  que  nous  soyons  enfin  decidement  quelque 
chose.  Le  Congres  y  a  songe  serieusement  depuis  quelque  temps  et 
je  n'ai  rien  neglige  pour  prouver  a  ceux  que  je  connais  combien  d'avan- 
tages  il  en  resulterait  pour  l'armee  et  pour  le  tresor  public.  Tout  le 
monde  m'a  paru  desirer  ce  changement  et  1'afFaire  pourrait  peut-etre  se 
terminer  sans  les  depeches  ministerielles  qui  prennent  maintenant  tous 
les  soins  et  l'attention  du  senat. 


XII. 

Cuarlkston,  January  7,  1780. 

I  reached  this  town  in  the  latter  end  of  last  month,  and  immediately 
communicated  to  General  Lincoln  every  instruction  I  had  received 
relative  to  the  inspection.  I  also  expressed  my  earnest  desire  of  enter- 
ing as  soon  as  possible  upon  the  duties  of  my  office ;  but  the  necessity 
of  an  incorporation  and  arrangement  of  part  of  this  army,  agreeable  to 
the  establishment  of  May,  1778,  have  forced  us  to  unavoidable  delays. 


666  APPENDIX. 

The  general  is  daily  employed  about  the  arrangement  of  the  South 
Carolina  line,  and  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  attending  such  an 
operation,  I  hope  he  will  be  able  to  complete  it  in  a  few  days,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  everybody.  Brigade  majors  will  be  appointed  imme- 
diately after,  a  review  of  inspection  made,  the  regulations  distributed 
and  explained,  and  in  short  my  whole  time  bestowed  upon  improving 
the  troops  in  their  tactics,  discipline  and  domestic  economy.  The  ne- 
cessity of  securing  this  capital  against  foreign  and  domestic  enemies,  of 
preventing  depredations  abroad,  and  of  supporting  the  reestablishment 
of  civil  authority  and  government  in  Georgia,  have  obliged  the  general 
to  divide  and  station  his  troops  in  several  places  at  a  great  distance  from 
one  another,  which  will  be  greatly  disadvantageous  to  my  operations. 
The  main  posts  are  Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston,  Sheldon,  opposite  to  Port 
Royal  island,  seventy  miles  from  Charleston,  and  Augusta,  one  hundred 
and  forty  miles  from  both.  I  shall  review,  myself,  and  instruct  succes- 
sively the  troops  in  those  places ;  and  not  to  lose  any  time,  as  soon 
as  the  brigade  majors  are  appointed  I  will  immediately  give  them  the 
necessary  instructions  for  disciplining  the  troops  by  the  time  I  can  re- 
view them  myself;  the  returns  of  every  post  shall  be  punctually  for- 
warded to  the  northward  after  every  inspection. 

I  must  beg  also  to  be  acquainted  how  far  my  duty  and  jurisdiction 
extend  with  regard  to  the  militia  serving  in  this  army,  and  whether 
they  are  to  be  reviewed  as  the  confederate  troops,  and  returns  of  them 
sent.  We  have  not  yet  received  any  of  our  reinforcements — the  nighest 
is  still  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  us ;  but  luckily  the  enemy  seem 
to  be  more  inclined  to  a  total  evacuation  of  Savannah  than  to  any 
offensive  undertaking.  When  we  are  able  to  penetrate  again  into 
Georgia,  I  hope  I  shall  have  it  once  more  in  my  power,  by  the  troops 
being  collected  in  one  body,  to  render  myself  more  generally  useful  to 
the  army. 


B.  Lincoln,  in  a  letter  dated  Charleston.  January  8th,  1780,  says 
about  Ternant:  "  We  parted  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ternant  with  re- 
luctance, and  are  made  happy  in  his  return  to  this  department,  for  his 
attention  and  zeal  rendered  him  highly  agreeable  to  us  while  here,  and 
from  our  knowledge  of  his  abilities  we  now  promise  ourselves  from  him 
the  most  essential  services. 


XIII. 

Charleston,  January  80,  1780. 
Les  Anglais  viennent  enfin  de  paraitre  sur  les  c6tes  de  la  Georgie 
et  de  la  Caroline,  mais  on  ignore  encore  leur  nombre  et  leur  intentions. 


APPENDIX.  667 

....  Mais  quelle  que  soit  leur  destination,  la  tempete  au  rapport  des 
matelots  les  a  tellement  battus  et  disperses  que  plusieurs  auront  ete 
force  de  relacher  aux  Antilles  et  qu'il  faudra  aux  autres  un  temps  con- 
siderable pour  se  rassembler  et  faire  une  descente.  Cela  me  fait  esperer 
que  nous  aurons  le  temps  de  reparer  nos  fautes.  Nos  sommes  encore 
dans  le  meme  etat  ou  nous  etions  lors  de  ma  derniere  lettre.  Nos  forti- 
fications sont  toujours  imparfaites  et  notre  armee  tres  faible  et  tres 
divisee.  Nous  avons  cependant  recu  un  renfort  de  1500  miliciens  de 
la  Caroline  du  Nord,  auxquels  on  a  eu  recours  pour  retablir  nos  abattis. 
On  leur  a  mis  des  haches  et  des  beches  a  la  main  au  lieu  de  mousquets 
dans  un  pays,  ou  Ton  se  flatte  tours  les  jours  d'avoir  150,000  negres,  et 
vous  pouvez  juger  par  la,  des  progres  qu'ils  peuvent  faire  dans  la  disci- 
pline, etc.^  Les  ressources  que  nous  offre  le  pays  sont  abondantes,  et  si 
nous  savons  en  faire  usage  ellent  suffiront  sans  doute  pour  garantir  la 
ville  de  tout  danger  jusqu'a  larrivee  des  troupes  du  Nord.  On  ignore 
absolument  ou  sont  ces  troupes  et  quand  on  peut  esperer  de  les  recevoir. 
Je  suis  bien  fache  de  n'avoir  rien  de  satisfaisant  a  vous  apprendre 
sur  l'inspection.  L' arrangement  de  la  ligne  n'est  point  encore  fini  et 
tout  ce  que  j'ai  pu  faire  jusqu'a  present  a  ete  de  tout  preparer  pour  une 
revue  au  commencement  de  Fevrier.  Le  general  promet  tous  les  jours 
de  mettre  la  derniere  main  a  la  reforme  et  de  nommer  des  majors  de 
brigade — vous  savez  que  je  n'ai  d'autre  pouvoir  que  celui  de  re"p- 
resenter,  aussi  en  fais  je  un  usage  journalier. 


XIV. 

STEUBEN    TO    WALKER. 

Philadelpiiie,  23  Fivrie)\  1780. 

Mox  Cher  Walker  ! 

Je  suis  bien  persuade,  que  ce  n'est  pas  de  votre  faute,  que  les  re- 
tours,  que  j'ai  demandes,  ne  sont  pas  entrees  plus  promptement.  Si 
j'avais  encore  le  feu  Prussien,  un  tel  delai  aurait  epuise  ma  patience, 
mais  maintenant  je  suis  si  fait  a  ces  negligences,  que  tres  souvent  je 
me  sens  dispose,  de  devenir  negligent  moi-meme.  J'ai  recu  vos  deux 
lettres  du  13  et  du  18.  Le  General  Washington  m'ecrit  du  18,  que  les 
retours  demandes  seront  envoyes  en  quelques  jours.  Je  les  attends 
done  avec  patience.  L'objet  des  retours  dans  tous  les  genres  etait  dans 
mon  opinion  la  fonction  la  plus  importante  des  inspecteurs  de  divisions 
et  de  brigades :  mais  si  ces  Messieurs  changent  leur  places  tous  les  huit 
jours,  il  n'est  pas  etonant,  que  cette  fonction  est  tellement  negligee. 

Vous  avez  certainement  bien  saisi  mon  intention  a  l'egard  du  retour 
pour  les  armes  et  accoutrements,  quoique  peut-etre  je  ne  l'avais  pas 


668  APPENDIX. 

assez  expliquee.  II  ne  s'agit  non  seulement  des  amies,  bajonets, 
gibernes  &,  mais  le  bureau  de  Guerre  doit  scavoir  ce  que  chacque  regi- 
ment possede  actuellement  en  armes  et  effets  militaires;  sous  lequel 
titre  sont  compris  drapeau,  esponton,  tambours,  fiffes,  fusils,  bajon- 
nettes,  gibernes,  cartouches,  pierres  de  fusil,  &.  Ayant  ces  retours  de 
chacque  regiment  et  les  retours  sur  les  memes  articles  de3  magasins 
militaires,  qui  sont  avec  l'armee,  le  bureau  de  Guerre,  sachant  a  quel 
nombre  chacque  regiment  doit  etre  monte  pour  la  campagne  prochaine, 
peut  aisement  calculer,  combien  il  faut  de  chacun  de  ces  articles  pour 
pourvoir  l'armee. 

Dans  votre  lettre  du  2,  vous  me  dites,  qua  la  fin  le  Dcpartement 
de  "  Mustre-Mastre"  est  annexe  a  celui  de  1'inspection.  Comme  je  n'ai 
rec,u  aucune  insinuation  sur  cet  objet,  ni  du  Congres,  ni  du  bureau  de 
Guerre,  et  que  le  general-en-chef  n'en  fait  pas  non  plus  mention  dans 
ses  lettres  &  moi,  je  vous  prie,  de  me  dire,  si  quelque  chose  sur  cet 
objet  est  donnee  aux  ordres  generates,  et  de  m'en  envoyer  un  extrait. 
Si  alors  les  inspecteurs  des  divisions  et  brigades  ont  quelque  demande 
ou  pretention  il  faire,  j'espere  qu'ils  s'adresseront  a  moi  par  ecrit,  et  si 
leurs  demandes  sont  justes  et  moderes — surtout  dans  ce  moment,  ou  le 
mauvais  etat  de  nos  finances  doit  affecter  tous  les  bons  Citoyens,  ils 
peuvent  etre  persuades,  que  c'est  avec  empressement,  que  je  m'em- 
ployerai  pour  obtenir  quelques  agrements  pour  des  omciers  aussi  dignes 
qu'estimables. 

Mais  vous  me  dites  dans  cette  meme  lettre,  qu'il  n'y  a  que  deux 
ou  trois  majors,  qu'ils  remplissent  actuellement  les  places  des  inspecteurs 
de  brigade,  et  que  parmi  eux  il  y  en  a,  qui  penscnt  a  quitter  cet  em- 
ploie.  Je  serai  au  desespoir,  ci  cela  arrive ;  j'ai  cependant  trop  bonne 
opinion  du  zele  de  ces  Messrs.,  qui  connaissent  l'importance  de  leur 
office,  pour  croire  qu'ils  voudront  abandonner  cette  besogne,  qui  quoi- 
qu'elle  est  penible,  est  si  essentielle  pour  le  bien  de  l'arm6e. 

Vous  m'obligerez,  mon  cher  Walker,  de  m'envoyer  dans  votre  pre- 
miere lettre  les  noms  des  inspecteurs  des  brigades,  et  quel  rang  chacun 
tient  dans  la  ligne  ? 

Vous  me  rnanquez  bien  essentiellement,  mon  cher  Walker.  Du- 
ponceau  est  malade ;  d'ailleurs  vous  scavez,  que  mes  idees  quelquefois 
bonnes,  ne  sont  pas  toujours  bonnes,  quand  on  les  traduit  mot  par  mot. 
II  me  faut  un  traducteur  pour  mes  idees  !  en  un  mot  il  me  faut  un  ami 
comme  vous. 

Je  pense  dft  venir  au  camp  avec  le  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  peut-etre 
dans  quinze  jours.  Le  temps  n'est  pas  encore  fixe.  Comme  il  se  peut, 
que  je  vous  persuade,  de  m'accompagner  alors  a  mon  retour  a  Phila- 
delphie,  et  que  je  me  flatte,  que  vous  ne  me  refuserez  pas,  je  vous  prie, 
de  vous  preparer  en  consequence. 

Voila,  mon  cher  ami,  une  lettre  sur  ma  table  pour  l'honorable  Con- 


APPENDIX.  CG9 

gres,  qui  est  cachete"e  depuis  huit  jours.     Elle  contient  la  demission  de  la 
place,  dont  l'Amerique  m'a  honore. 

Le  mauvais  etat  de  mes  propres  finances  m'oblige,  de  finir  un  jeu, 
que  je  ne  peux  plus  soutenir.  On  m'a  persuade,  de  retenir  cette  lettre 
encore  quelques  jours,  avec  assurance,  que  le  Congres  s'occupe  des 
moyens,  pour  y  remedier.  Je  ne  scais  ce  qui  arrivera;  j'attendrai 
encore  quelques  jours,  mais  ma  lettre  une  fois  partie,  j'engage  ma 
parole  d'honneur,  que  je  ne  la  reprends  plus. 

Une  lettre  de  Londres  dans  les  gazettes  cle  Paris  me  fait  plus 
d'honneur,  que  je  ne  merite.  On  y  parle  de  l'ordre  et  de  la  discipline 
parfaite,  que  j'ai  etablis  dans  notre  armee.  Plut  au  ciel,  qu'au  lieu  de 
parfait  je  pourrais  me  flatter  que  c'etoit  passable.  Votre  nom  est  dans 
le  meme  lettre  ajoutant,  que  vous  etiez  un  natif  de  Londres,  qui  m'as- 
sistoit  comme  aide-de-camp.  II  faut,  que  l'auteur  est  mieux  informe 
de  nos  personnes,  que  de  nos  succes. 

Mais  revenons  a  mes  affaires.  Si  on  me  met  encore  a  la  charrue 
pour  cette  campagne,  m'abandonnerez  vous,  mon  ami  ?  Je  me  flatte, 
que  vous  changerez  votre  opinion  selon  mon  desir,  en  marchant  avec 
moi  main-en-main. 

Je  n'attends,  qu'une  occasion  pour  vous  envoyer  votre  chapeau.  Je 
vous  prie,  de  me  dire  avec  franchise  ce  que  vous  avez  besoin.  Aussitot 
que  je  puis  avoir  le  drap,  je  vous  en  enverrai  pour  une  uniforme.  Mar- 
quez  moi,  quel  parement  et  doublure  vous  voulez.  Traitez  moi  comme 
votre  ami  et  votre  commissionnaire. 

J'ai  recu  la  lettre  la  plus  bete  de  Mr.  des  Epiniers,  il  n'est  pas  parti 
pour  la  France.  II  me  demande  mon  avis,  s'il  doit  revenir  aupres  de 
moi  comme  mon  aide-de-camp,  ou  s'il  doit  faire  le  commerce  pour  son 
oncle.     Vous  pensez  bien,  que  je  lui  ai  conseille  le  dernier. 

Mes  complimens  a  nos  braves  gens  de  la  maison.  Si  Mde.  Rober- 
son  a  des  commissions,  je  le  ferai  avec  plaisir.  Voyez  aussi  souvent, 
que  vous  pouvez,  le  General  Washington  et  communiquez  moi  ce  qu'il 
vous  dit.     Je  vous  embrasse  de  tout  mon  cceur. 

Steuben. 

P.  S. — Le  gouvernement  me  demande,  de  procurer  les  ordonnances 
pour  tous  les  officiers  de  l'armee.  Major  Scoll  est  alle  en  France  avec  la 
confederation.  Les  Messrs.  du  bureau  de  Guerre  pretendent,  que  toutes 
les  regulations  sont  envoyees  a  l'armee.  Je  vous  prie,  de  m'envoyer 
une  note  exacte,  combien  nous  avons  recu  et  distribue,  et  de  vous  in- 
former apres  ceux,  que  Colonel  Scammel  a  laisses  a,  Windsor  et  ce 
qu'ils  sont  devenus. 

Le  bureau  de  Guerre  n'a  que  42  copies  de  reste.  Dites  moi,  si  cela 
est  vrai,  que  notre  armee  a  tant  de  desertion  et  la  raison,  d'ou  cela 
provient  ? 


670  APPENDIX 


XV. 


STEUBEN      TO      WALKER. 

Philadelphia  le  17  Mars,  1780. 

Depuis  votre  lettre  du  24  Fevrier,  je  n'ai  pas  toqu  de  vos  nouvelles. 
Rien  n'etant  decide  ici  sur  nos  arrangements  pour  la  campagne,  et  tout 
paraissant  etre  arrete  par  le  mauvais  etat  de  nos  finances,  je  n'ai  rien  a 
vous  dire,  qui  pouvait  vous  interesser. 

Maintenant  on  assure,  que  le  Congres  a  trouve  la  pierre  philoso- 
phale — pour  faire  de  l'or  et  de  l'argent  tant  que  nous  pouvons  manger — 
tant  mieux,  s'il  etait  vrai ! 

J'espere,  qu'a  la  fin  mes  vives  representations  ont  tant  opere,  que 
dans  deux  ou  trois  jours  on  determinera  a  la  fin  le  systeme  de  la  forma- 
tion de  l'armee  pour  la  campagne  prochaine. 

Mainte  projets  ont  ete  proposes,  pour  incorporer,  reformer  et  re- 
fondre  toute  l'armee.  Avant-hier  on  m'a  demande  mon  opinion  sur 
cet  objet.  Je  l'ai  donne  en  protestant  solemnellement  contre  une  incor- 
poration quelconque.  Je  propose  le  moyen  le  plus  simple,  qui  est  de 
laisser  le  nombre  des  regiments  et  des  corps ;  de  les  egaliser,  les  aug- 
menter  autant  que  les  circonstances  le  permettent ;  de  mettre  chaque 
regiment  d'inf'anterie  au  nombre  de  317  hommes,  sans  y  comprendre 
les  officiers  commissionnes.  ni  les  tambours  et  "fifers ;"  de  conserver 
la  division  d'un  regiment  en  neuf  compagnies ;  chaque  compagnie  de  35 
soldats. 

De  mettre  chaque  regiment  de  Cavallerie  au  nombre  de  204  Cava- 
liers montes ;  y  compris  les  sous-officiers  et  trompettes,  de  conserver  la 
formation  en  3  Esq.  et  six  Comps.  chaque  Regt. 

Mon  projet  pour  les  Regts.  additionels  et  les  autres  corps  indepen- 
dants,  est  a  peu  pres  sur  la  meme  base.  Je  m'oppose  directement  a 
toute  alteration  pour  la  campagne  prochaine  et  j'explique  les  raisons, 
qui  m'engagent  a  m'y  opposer.  Je  n'ai  pas  le  temps,  de  vous  les  de- 
tainer ici.  Mais  je  suis  sure,  que  vous  serez  de  mon  avis,  quand  vous 
les  scaurez. 

Mais,  mon  ami !  de  tout  ce  que  je  me  suis  propose  de  faire  ici  a 
Philadelphie,  il  n'y  a  pas  la  dixieme  partie  achevee. 

Le  retard  de  la  decision  du  Congres  a  retarde  mes  operations  et 
quand  meme  cette  decision  aurait  etc  donnee  plus  t6t,  je  gens,  que  je 
ne  pourrai  rien  achever  sans  votre  assistance.  Vous  scavez,  que  meme 
dans  mes  propres  affaires  j'ai  besoin  de  l'assistance  de  mon  ami  Walker. 
Je  me  flatte  que  vous  ne  persistez  pas  dans  ce  projet,  qui  m'a  fait  tant 
de  peine  et  que  nous  ferons  encore  cette  campagne  ensemble.  Pour  la 
faire  un  peu  plus  agreablement,  que  la  precedents,  il  faut  un  peu  ar- 
ranger notre  menage.     Vous  scavez  combien  je  suis  ignorant  sur  cet  ob- 


APPENDIX.  671 

jet.  J'ose  done  vous  prier,  mon  ami,  de  venir  a  mon  secours  aussi 
promptement,  que  vous  pourrez.  Faites  vous  avancer  par  Mr.  Smith 
ou  par  qui  vous  voulez  500  dollars  pour  votre  voyage.  Je  les  rem- 
bourserai  ici ;  et  venez  me  joindre  aussitot  que  possible.  Duponceau  est 
toujours  malade;  son  etat  m'inquiete  infiniment.  Le  pauvre  garcon 
m'assiste  tant  qu'il  peut,  mais  e'est  avec  peine,  que  je  lui  donne  de 
l'ouvrage. 

Les  mauvais  chemins  differeront  encore  quelque  temps  le  depart  du 
Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  ;  peut-etre  restera-t-il  jusqu'a  ce  que  je  vais  au 
camp  moi-meme — il  se  rejouit,  de  vous  voir  ici. 

Annoncez  votre  depart  au  general-en-chef,  mais  en  cas  qu'il  veut 
vous  charger  de  lettres,  faites,  qu'on  vous  expedie  promptement. 

Je  vous  attends  ici  dans  le  cours  de  la  semaine  prochaine.  Je  loge 
chez  Me.  Clark  —  Front  street.  Vous  y  trouverez  une  jeune  veuve  et 
une  demoiselle  charmante  de  New  York.  —  Motif  de  plus,  pour  vous 
engager  de  venir  le  plus  promptement. 

Tachez,  mon  ami,  de  m'apporter  une  estimation  aussi  juste  que  pos- 
sible du  nornbre  des  "  Regulations"  que  le  bureau  de  G-uerre  a  fourni 
pour  la  grande  armee.  Le  pauvre  Major  Scoll  etant  alle  au  paradis  ne 
peut  plus  nous  en  rendre  compte. 

Je  vous  attends  avec  1' impatience  de  l'amant  pour  sa  maitresse,  ou 
pour  parler  sans  figure,  avec  tous  les  sentiments  de  vraie  ami  tie,  avec 
lesquels  je  suis  toujours, 

Mon  cher  ami, 

Votre  tres  humble  et  tres 

Obeissant  serviteur, 

Steuben. 

XVI. 

STEUBEN     TO     . 

"Willi amsbou eg,  le  9  Septbr.,  1781. 

Mon  Ami, — J'ai  recu  votre  lettre  du  13  Augt.  de  Philadelphie.  Je 
vous  suis  bien  oblige  pour  les  preuvres  de  votre  attachement  et  pour  les 
nouvelles,  que  vous  me  donnez.  Je  vous  prie  de  continuer  l'un  et  1' autre 
et  soyez  bien  sur  de  ma  reconnoissance. 

Je  suis  fache,  que  vous  n'avez  pas  trouve  Mr.  Peters  a  Philadelphie 
— peut  etre  l'avez  vous  rencontre  au  quartier  general.  Je  voudrais 
scavoir,  s'il  a  recu  ma  lettre,  dans  laquelle  je  lui  ai  envoye  ce  morceau 
du  journal,  que  vous  scavez.  Tout  etoit  prepare  pour  mon  depart  pour 
le  Sud,  lorsqu'une  attaque  de  la  goutte  m'obligea  differer  mon  depart 
pour  quelque  jours.  Le  3.  je  recevois  une  lettre  du  marquis,  ou  il  me 
mandoit,  que  la  flotte  franooise  avec  un  corps  de  4000  etoit  dans  la 
Baye,  et  qu'il  seroit  «harme  de  me  voir  chez  lui.     Ma  goutte  fut  guerie 


G72  appendix. 

u  l'instant ;  j'ecrivis  au  General  et  le  lendemain  je  partois  avec  Colonel 
Walker  pour  l'armee,  qui  avancoit  vers  Williamsbourg. 

Hier  j'arrivois  a  cette  place,  oil  j'ai  trouve  l'armee  francoise  campee 
avec  la  notre  a  une  mille  du  college.  Nos  lignes  sont  avancees  a  4 
milles  de  York,  ou  l'ennemi  se  tient  tres  serre,  faisant  des  retranche- 
ments  a  York  et  Gloucester.  Tous  les  Canons  et  Matelots  sont  a  terre 
et  les  vaisseaux  prets  a  etre  brules  en  cas  de  necessite.  Je  ne  doute 
pas,  que  Cornwallis  ne  se  prepare  pour  une  vigoureuse  defense,  mais  les 
avantages  sont  a  cette  heure  de  notre  cote.  II  faut  un  miracle,  pour- 
qu'il  s'echappe.  S'il  se  sauve  de  ce  pas,  Cornwallis  sera  immortel  dans 
sa  patrie.  S'il  succombe,  il  sera  criminel  et  peut-etre  juge  severement. 
Voila,  mon  ami,  le  sort  d'un  General.  La  meme  action,  le  meme  ma- 
noeuvre peut  conduire  un  general  a  la  gloire  ou  sur  l'echafaud  !  C'est  du 
succes,  que  depend  le  jugement !  On  dit,  que  la  flotte  francoise  ou  du 
moins  une  partie  d'elle  est  en  poursuite  de  l'ennemi ;  depuis  plusieurs 
jours  nous  n'avons  pas  de  nouvelles  du  Comte  de  Grasse.  Six  vais- 
seaux de  ligne  sont  restes  au  Cap  —  les  autres  ont  disparu.  Les  fre- 
gattes  sont  a  l'autre  cote  de  Jamestown.  Vous  scavez  sans  doute,  que 
Lord  Eawdon,  pris  dans  son  passage  pour  l'Angleterre,  est  en  nos 
mains  ? 

Je  n'ai  pas  encore  vu  le  marquis ;  il  est  malade  et  ne  peut  voir  per- 
sonne.  Une  fievre  violente  l'a  saisi  tout  d'un  coup.  J'espere  de  le  voir 
aujourd'hui. 

Mon  ami  North  fut  attaque  de  la  meme  maniere  en  chemin.  A 
peine  ai-je  pu  l'amener  ici  dans  une  chaise.     II  a  la  fievre  tres  forte. 

Vous  sentez  bien,  que  tout  est  ici  "  in  high  spirits"  quoique  la  milice 
ne  se  rassemble  qu'avec  sa  negligence  ordinaire. 

Je  bataille  tous  les  jours  contre  la  reception  des  aide-de-camp. 
Duval  et  quelques  autres  j'ai  repousse.  Mais  je  ne  pouvois  pas  me  de- 
faire  de  Peyton  Randolf  et  de  Moore,  beau-frere  du  Colonel  Walker.  lis 
sont  mes  aides  volontiers  pour  cette  expedition.  Oh  mon  ami !  pour- 
quoi  n'etes  vou  pas  avec  moi — mais  comme  nous  attendons  des  troupes 
du  Nord,  peut-etre  vous  en  etes !    Quelle  joie  aurai-je  de  vous  revoir. 

Ne  sachant  ou  vous  addresser  cette  lettre,  elle  restera  dans  mon 
portefeuille  et  sera  continuee  avec  les  nouvelles,  que  nous  aurons. 


XVII. 

WILLIAM     DAVIES     TO     STEUBEN. 

Kichmond,  September  9th,  1781. 
I  know  not  how  to  express  to  you  my  gratitude  for  the  very  oblig- 
ing terms  of  favor  and  friendship  you  have  used  towards  me.     Your 
approbation  I  shall  always  be  anxious  to  acquire,  and  however  disap- 


APPENDIX.  673 

pointed  your  disinterested  exertions  may  have  been,  for  raising  the  line  of 
this  State  into  respect  and  consequence,  I  console  myself  with  your  as- 
surance that  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  of  the  troops  of  Virginia  shall 
always  be  an  object  of  your  attention  and  regard.  .  .  .  With  the  warm- 
est emotions  of  affectionate  respect  I  bid  you  farewell,  and  beg  you, 
my  dear  general,  to  accept  of  my  most  ardent  wishes  for  your  health 
and  happiness,  and  a  glorious  reward  for  the  very  disinterested  attach- 
ment you  have  shown  my  country,  in  an  unremitted  series  of  faithful 
services. 


XVIII. 

WILLIAM     DAVIES     TO     STEUBEN. 

Richmond,  October  6th,  1781. 
I  am  happy  to  hear  you  are  still  in  Virginia,  and  sincerely  congrat- 
ulate you  on  the  pleasing  prospect  before  us.  You  had  long  expressed 
your  opinion  of  the  necessity  of  more  attention  and  assistance  towards 
us  from  the  northward,  and  I  doubt  not  that  your  representations  in 
our  favor  had  an  influence  in  procuring  the  aid  we  have  received.  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  arrange  my  business  in  such  a  manner  as  to  admit 
of  my  visiting  camp  before  the  scene  is  closed,  when  I  shall  be  happy 
in  paying  my  respects  to  you. 


XIX. 

WILLIAM      DAVIES     TO      STEUBEN. 

Wak  Office,  December  2Tth,  1781. 

I  am  happy  to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  and  prom- 
ise myself  the  satisfaction  of  being  recollected  by  you  in  your  moments 
of  leisure. 

I  am  anxious  to  hear  what  impression  the  capture  of  Cornwallis 
will  make  upon  the  Europen  powers,  and  particularly  the  Parliament  of 
Britain.  It  is  a  calamity  the  British  never  expected,  and  must  doubt- 
less be  felt  with  double  poignancy  after  the  high  hopes  they  had  enter- 
tained from  the  incursions  and  conquests,  as  they  called  them,  of  Lord 
Cornwallis. 

I  have  understood  the  Congress  propose  to  make  another  arrange- 
ment of  the  army.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  know  upon  what  princi- 
ples it  is  to  be  made.  I  honestly  confess  the  difficulties  which  officers, 
particularly  of  Virginia,  are  constantly  entangled  with,  have  very  much 
moderated  my  zeal  for  a  service  I  was  once  greatly  attached  to. 

The  troops  at  Cumberland  old  Court-house,  both  officers  and  sol- 

29 


674  APPENDIX. 

diers,  have  refused  to  march  till  they  get  their  pay.  The  situation  of  a 
brigadier  officer  or  soldier  is  worse  than  that  of  a  slave,  and  unless  it  is 
speedly  altered  there  will  be  an  end  of  the  line  altogether. 

I  must  beg  you  to  favor  me  with  a  line  whenever  your  more  im- 
portant business  will  admit.  It  will  afford  me  much  satisfaction  to  find 
I  am  not  forgotten,  as  I  am,  with  unalterable  attachment,  etc. 


XX. 


STEUBEN   TO  COLONEL   BARBER. 

Pompton,  April  5th,  1782. 

Nothing  gives  me  more  pain  than  to  be  obliged  to  censure  where  I 
wish  to  commend.  I  am  obliged  to  complain  to  you  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  inspection  and  other  rolls  have  been  made  out.  My  com- 
plaint is  not  official.  I  think  I  know  the  officers  in  the  American  army 
so  well  as  to  believe  that  it  is  sufficient  for  them  to  know  that  they  have 
committed  a  fault ;  their  wish  will  be  to  repair  and  avoid  it  in  future. 

The  inspection  returns  of  both  regiments  are  wrong.  In  the  first 
no  mention  is  made  of  the  colors.  The  return  goes  only  on  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-seven  to  be  armed,  whereas  it  ought  to  be  four  hun- 
dred and  three,  including  the  sergeants  and  quarter-master  sergeants ; 
which  make  the  number  of  arms,  ammunition,  etc.,  wanting,  entirely 
wrong.  In  the  camp,  of  equipage  neither  lanterns  nor  knapsacks  are 
returned ;  neither  are  there  any  deficiencies  noted.  In  the  inspection 
returns  of  the  second  regiment  the  ...  is  said  to  be  eight  captains,  no 
surgeon's  mate,  sergeants,  major,  drum  or  fife  major;  no  major  to  the 
regiment,  thirty-six  sergeants,  seventeen  drums,  three  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-eight rank  and  file.  Colors  for  the  regiment  are  not  mentioned. 
There  are  several  other  mistakes  in  both  rolls. 

The  muster  rolls  are  in  general  very  badly  made  out;  very  few 
but  arc  wanting  in  some  part  or  another.  Some  of  them  are  so  erro- 
neous as  not  to  be  passed,  among  which  are  Captain  Helmsreckle.  In 
the  column  for  musters,  in  one  return  Michael  Daily  is  inserted,  in  the 
other  two  he  is  not.  Abraham  Roser  is  mustered  in  two  rolls,  but  in  the 
third  he  is  called  Shaver.  James  Wigans  is  not  mustered,  but  no  rea- 
son is  given  why  he  is  not.  In  the  rolls  of  Captain  Peale's  company 
the  drums  and  fifes  are  not  distinguished.  Aaron  Bayly  is  mustered  in 
two,  but  not  in  the  third  roll. 


APPENDIX.  675 

XXI. 

STEUBEN     TO      GENERAL     WAYNE. 

Fishkill  Landing,  May  24th,  1782. 
The  very  polite  and  delicate  manner  in  which  you  have  considered 
my  attentions  to  the  honor  of  those  truly  brave  men  whom  I  had  the 
honor  to  command  in  the  trenches  on  the  day  alluded  to,  is  so  very 
flattering  that  I  find  myself  at  a  loss  of  words  to  express  my  feelings 
on  this  occasion.  I  had  too  often  borne  witness  of  the  gallant  exertions 
of  the  troops  under  the  command  of  General  Wayne  to  perceive  that 
a  superiority  of  numbers  was  necessary  to  secure  success,  and  so  long 
as  the  armies  of  America  continue  to  be  commanded  by  officers  of  such 
distinguished  merits  her  military  glory  will  remain  untarnished.  I  am 
very  sorry,  my  dear  general,  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  giving  disa- 
greeable answers  to  your  pertinent  and  important  queries.  From  every 
appearance  the  enemy  seem  disposed  to  conduct  the  war  in  the  old 
channel,  except  that  their  force  is  too  inconsiderable  to  make  any  im- 
pression, and  the  situation  of  our  public  affairs  is  such  as  not  to  prom- 
ise any  decided  exertions  on  our  part.  I  hope  the  best,  though  I  fear 
the  worst.  Yesterday  the  news  of  our  independence  by  the  States  of 
Holland  was  announced  at  head-quarters,  as  contained  in  a  paragraph 
of  a  British  newspaper.  This  event,  which  happened  on  the  29th  of 
March,  has  afforded  us  general  satisfaction,  which,  together  with  the 
birth  of  a  dauphin  of  France,  will  be  a  subject  of  an  elegant  entertain- 
ment in  the  army,  and  a  feu  de  pie.  General  Carleton,  who  has  lately 
arrived  with  a  withered  olive  branch  in  his  hand,  proposed  to  send  his 
aid  to  Congress  on  business  of  consequence,  which  was  received  with 
a  disdain  suited  to  the  absurdity  of  the  proposition.  I  have  inclosed  a 
paper  containing  an  address  to  the  people,  in  consequenoe  of  the  re- 
ports holding  up  an  idea  of  peace.  I  wish  it  may  have  the  desired  ef- 
fect, though  I  have  little  reason  for  it  from  present  appearances. 


XXII. 

Lieutenant   Colonel  J.   TernanHs  Report  of  the  Muster  and  Inspection 
made  of  the  Southern  Army  during  the  month  of  April,  1782. 

What  relates  to  the  muster  is  so  fully  explained  in  the  inclosed 
abstract  as  to  make  it  unnecessary  to  say  any  thing  further  on  the  sub- 
ject I  have  to  lament  that  the  inspection  could  not  be  made  with 
that  accurate  strictness  the  good  of  the  service  and  the  nature  of  the 
operation  required. 

But  I  am  in  hopes  that  the  total  deficiency  of  materials  and  vouchers 


G76  APPENDIX. 

necessary  to  a  proper  investigation,  the  Avant  of  printed  forms,  and  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  army  will  sufficiently  account  for  every 
imperfection.  The  inclosed  returns,  irregular  as  they  are,  will  at  least 
show  the  pressing  wants  of  the  troops  in  many  respects,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  preparing  the  way  to  a  future  and  more  complete  inspection. 
With  that  view  I  shall  lay  before  you  such  a  set  of  regulations,  to  be 
issued  in  general  orders  if  approved  of,  as  appear  to  me  most  con- 
ducive to  the  last  object ;  in  the  meantime  I  shall  beg  leave  to  com- 
municate a  few  remarks  on  the  present  state  of  the  army. 

Formation. — It  is  the  best  that  could  be  adopted  in  the  confused 
state  of  the  several  lines  which  were  to  compose  this  army ;  and  we 
can  only  wish  the  present  arrangement  of  the  infantry  to  be  permanent, 
and  such  recruits  as  may  in  future  be  sent  by  the  several  States,  to  be 
equally  distributed  to  all  the  corps  and  companies  as  they  actually 
stand,  so  as  to  complete  them  to  their  establishment. 

Without  a  permanency  of  that  sort,  both  in  the  appointments  of 
the  officers  and  the  distribution  of  the  men,  the  economical  details  of 
the  service  must  be  totally  neglected,  and  a  principal  object  of  this  de- 
partment unavoidably  missed.  If  the  company  of  Virginia  infantry 
under  Lieutenant  Smith  is  ultimately  attached  to  the  Second  Partizan 
Legion,  they  ought  to  do  duty  as  such  in  every  respect,  and  not 
separately ;  if  not,  their  incorporation  into  Lieutenant  Colonel  Posey's 
battalion  might  prove  advantageous  to  the  service. 

Discipline. — With  regard  to  tactics,  discipline  is  as  perfect  as  can  be 
expected  under  the  actual  circumstances  of  the  army.  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Posey's  battalion,  on  the  day  of  the  review,  went  through 
several  evolutions  and  maneuvers  very  much  to  the  credit  of  the  corps. 
There  seems  to  be  a  total  want  of  system  in  the  legionary  corps,  each 
of  them  having  a  particular  formation,  and  a  different  method  of  exe- 
cuting the  several  evolutions  peculiar  to  their  service.  With  regard  to 
the  interior  and  economical  discipline,  it  is  defective  in  a  very  material 
point ;  no  regimental  or  company  books  are  kept  in  any  corps  of  the 
army.  The  necessity  of  attending  immediately  to  that  object  is  too 
obvious  to  need  any  further  mention.  I  shall  therefore  lay  before  you 
the  forms  of  the  several  books  as  they  are  kept  in  the  northern  army, 
that  they  may  be  introduced  in  the  manner  you  may  think  proper  to 
order.  * 

Arms. — The  muskets  and  bayonets  in  general  are  in  good  order  and 
properly  attended  to  in  the  infantry.  But  it  was  with  great  concern  I 
found  such  a  deficiency  of  them  as  to  leave  upwards  of  three  hundred 
men  unarmed  on  a  field  day — part  of  those  are  to  be  found  in  every 
company  under  the  denominations  of  camp  color  men,  pioneers  and  bar- 
bers, claiming,  from  custom,  an  exemption  of  bearing  arms,  highly  inju- 
rious to  the  service,  and  no  ways  warranted  by  the  regulations ;  others 


APPENDIX.  G77 

as  waiters  enjoy  the  same  privilege,  contrary  to  the  late  adopted  rules 
and  general  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief.  The  artificers  and  ma- 
trosses  of  the  artillery  are  also  without  arms,  and  although  custom  and 
the  opinion  of  a  distinguished  character  have  sanctified  the  practice,  I 
can  not  help  thinking-  that  the  service  would  be  benefited  by  those  men 
having  firelocks  of  one  kind  or  other,  besides  the  advantage  of  both  at- 
tending to  their  police,  the  defense  and  safety  of  their  stores,  etc.,  etc. 
Upon  all  occasions  the  artificers  would  answer  the  purpose  of  a  guard  for 
the  baggage  of  the  army,  and  so  lessen  the  number  of  drafts  from  the  line. 

The  swords  of  the  cavalry  are  but  in  a  very  indifferent  order,  one 
third  being  without  scabbards,  many  broken  or  very  much  abused,  and 
all  far  from  being  clean.  The  few  pistols  they  have  are  so  little  at- 
tended to  that  many  are  unfit  for  any  kind  of  use,  and  the  rest  want 
ammunition.  I  must  except  a  troop  of  the  Fourth  regiment,  under 
Captain  Sill,  whose  arms,  clothing  and  accouterments  bespoke  a  steady 
attention  to  discipline.  I  found  nowhere  the  traveling  forge,  armorers, 
tools,  chests  of  spare  arms  and  ammunition  that  every  brigade  or  two 
battalions  ought  to  have,  conformable  to  the  regulations,  the  want  of 
which  must  occasion  a  variety  of  inconveniences  too  obvious  to  need 
any  mention. 

Accouterments. — The  inspection  returns  will  show  a  great  deficiency 
of  cartridge-boxes  in  the  infantry,  and  almost  a  total  one  in  the  cavalry. 
That  part  of  the  equipment  is  so  important  and  necessary  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  ammunition,  that  an  immediate  supply  must  be  looked 
upon  as  indispensable ;  those  of  the  cavalry  could  even  be  spared  to  the 
infantry,  if  necessary,  as  the  upper  part  of  the  holster-pipe  can  be  so 
contrived  as  to  contain  three  rounds,  which  is  the  most  a  horseman 
will  want.  Gun-worms,  screw-drivers  and  turn-screws  are  wanting 
everywhere.  The  accouterments  of  the  horse  are  still  in  a  worse  con- 
dition than  their  arms ;  all  the  saddles  are  incomplete  and  want  repair, 
no  collars  or  halters,  and  very  few  valises.  The  want  of  saddlers  and 
farriers  in  the  cavalry  is  much  to  be  lamented,  as  most  of  the  saddles 
and  bridles,  etc.,  are  worn  out  and  destroyed  long  before  their  usual 
duration ;  the  granting  those  men  an  additional  pay  might  be  a  just 
encouragement  to  those  already  in  service,  and  a  great  inducement  to 
others  for  enlisting. 

Ammunition. — The  deficiency  of  it  in  the  infantry  calls  aloud  for  an 
immediate  supply;  the  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  brigades  are  the 
best  furnished,  every  man  being  complete  to  thirty  rounds — but  no 
regimental  or  brigade  spare  stock.  The  North  Carolina  brigade,  the 
whole  of  the  light  infantry,  and  the  infantry  in  Georgia,  have  not  above 
twelve- rounds  per  man,  including  the  issued  and  spare  ammunition; 
the  cartridges  through  the  whole  army  are  mostly  too  small  in  the  size 
of  the  bullet  and  the  quantity  of  the  powder,  and  some  too  large  to  fit 


G78  APPENDIX. 

any  bore.  That  strongly  indicates  the  necessity  of  ascertaining,  by  the 
usual  methods  and  experiments,  the  several  bores,  and  the  quantity  of 
powder  best  calculated  for  each,  so  that  measures  and  models  may  be 
made  to  direct  the  cartridge  makers.  The  regulations  with  regard  to 
the  drawing  the  charges  after  field  duty,  collecting  and  returning  the 
bad  cartridges,  are  exceedingly  neglected  throughout  the  army.  There 
is  a  deficiency  of  spare  flints  to  one  fifth  of  the  muskets. 

Clothing  and  Camp  Equipage. — It  is  totally  deficient  with  one  half 
of  the  army,  and  far  gone  with  the  other  half.  If  the  troops  were 
furnished  with  the  proportion  of  needles  and  thread  they  have  a  right 
to,  it  might  be  the  means  of  lengthening  the  duration  of  the  several 
articles  of  clothing. 

Horses.— Size  rolls  of  them  are  totally  deficient  in  the  cavalry,  but 
so  necessary  that  no  time  ought  to  be  lost  in  ordering  them  to  be  made 
out.  Several  horses  returned  as  sick,  absent  with  their  riders,  are  too 
scattered  to  admit  of  any  examination;  a  place  convenient  for  that 
purpose  ought  to  be  fixed  upon,  where  all  the  horses  from  the  several 
corps  could  be  collected,  with  a  suitable  number  of  farriers,  and  an 
officer  to  superintend  the  infirmary. 

Hospitals. — The  sick  in  general  are  as  well  attended  to  as  the  cir- 
cumstances will  permit.  There  is  a  total  deficiency  of  the  sacks  al- 
lowed by  the  regulations,  to  the  regimental  and  general  hospitals. 

Two  soldiers  of  the  Second  Maryland  regiment,  in  Captain  McPher- 
son's  and  Lieutenant  Adam's  companies,  were  suffered  to  go  to  the 
hospital  with  their  arms  and  accouterments,  contrary  to  the  regulations. 

Martley  Leppet,  Henry  Cook,  of  First  Maryland,  and  James  Bar- 
row, of  Second  Delaware,  appear  to  be  proper  subjects  to  be  transferred 
to  the  invalids  corps. 


XXII. 

OTHO     H.     WILLIAMS     TO     STEUBEN. 

Camp  Newkuhg,  November  2St7i,  17S2. 
If  I  had  known  of  your  being  in  quarters  in  the  vicinity  of  Phila- 
delphia, I  would  certainly  have  done  myself  the  honor  of  paying  my 
respects  to  you,  on  my  route  to  the  northern  army.  The  striking  con- 
trast I  observe  in  what  our  troops  now  are  and  what  they  were  when 
you  first  undertook  the  office  of  inspector  general,  evinces  in  a  very 
conspicuous  degree  the  great  advantages  of  systematic  discipline,  and 
how  much  may  be  effected  by  the  perseverance,  attention  and  activity 
of  an  individual  who  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  his 
profession.      How  much  our  troops  are  indebted  to  you,  sir,  for  that 


APPENDIX.  679 

military  ability  and  appearance  in  which  they  now  both  so  advanta- 
geously compare  with  the  best  disciplined  troops  in  Europe,  Congress, 
his  Excellency  General  Washington,  and  other  eminent  characters,  bear 
honorable  testimony.  The  personal  knowledge  I  have,  as  an  officer  of 
the  American  army,  acquired  from  your  general  instructions,  influences 
my  gratitude  to  add  my  private  thanks  to  the  more  important  acknowl- 
edgments you  have  already  and  repeatedly  received. 


XXIII. 

STEUBEN     TO      WALKER. 

Schuylkill,  December  27th,  1782. 

Mon  Cher  Walker, — Ce  n'est  que  depuis  quatre  jours  que  Briga- 
dier Williams  m'a  remis  votre  lettre  du  3  Decembre.  Vous  scavez  com- 
bien  je  suis  sensible  a  l'amitie  ;  jugez  done  si  les  lettres  qui  me  viennent 
de  vous  me  doivent  etre  cheres.  Si  je  vous  avois  s§u  aussi  pres  de  moi, 
je  vous  aurais  prevenu  en  venant  vous  voir.  J'aurais  satisfait  un  double 
desir,  celui  de  presenter  mes  hommages  a  Mrs.  Washington  et  de  voir 
un  ami  que  j'aime.  Mais  lorsque  j'ai  recu  votre  avant  derniere  lettre, 
je  croyais  qu'il  seroit  trop  tard  pour  arrive?  a  Robertson's  ferry.  L'ar- 
rivee  du  Comte  Rochambeau  et  des  autres  officiers  francais  fait  que  je 
suis  maintenant  plus  dissipe  que  je  ne  l'etais  du  commencement.  Ces 
Messieurs  viennent  me  voir  et  je  suis  souvent  avec  eux.  An  reste  de- 
puis quinze  jours  mes  affaires  particulieres  m'ont  presque  toujours  appele 
en  ville. 

J'ai  donne  un  memoire  au  Congrcs,  dans  lequel  j'ai  evacue  tout  ce 
que  j'avois  sur  l'estomac  depuis  1777  ;  jugez  si  je  dois  me  trouver  sou- 
lage.  lis  ont  nomme  une  committee  delaquelle  Hamilton  est  president. 
J'ui  expose  ma  situation  "  in  plain  English."  Le  rapport  n'est  pas  encore 
fait.  Pour  de  la  paye  je  suis  deja  assure  de  recevoir  autant  que  mes 
pauvres  compagnons,  e'est  a  dire  peu  ou  rien.  Pour  les  autres  deman- 
des,  on  employera  a  ce  que  je  prevois  des  palliatifs  pour  me  faire  vivre 
une  campagne  de  plus.  Au  reste,  je  dois  avouer  que  je  n'etais  jamais 
traite  avec  plus  de  bonte  depuis  que  je  suis  en  Amerique.  Le  Congres 
parait  vouloir  me  faire  sa  cour  en  parlant  a  toute  occasion  de  notre  ar- 
mee  avec  une  veneration  sans  egal.  On  ne  lamente  le  mauvais  etat  de 
nos  finances  que  pour  ne  pouvoir  satisfaire  les  justes  demandes  de  nos 
genereux  officiers.  Si  les  compliments  pouvoient  nous  faire  vivre,  mon 
cher,  il  n'y  aurait  pas  une  arinee  aussi  riche  que  la  notre. 

C'est  du  moins  quelque  chose ;  personne  ne  s'avise  plus  de  dire 
"  Let  them  go,  we  shall  have  another  1" 

Taisez  vous  au  nom  de  Dieu  sur  mon  bonnet  de  nuit  et  sur  G-ibral- 


G80  APPENDIX. 

tar !  Ah !  les  B  .  .  .  ties  Anglais !  S'ils  avoient  des  generaux  et  des 
ininistres  comme  ils  ont  des  officiers  de  marine,  ils  feraient  la  conquete 
du  monde.  Que  je  respecte  ce  Howe  ;  voila  ce  qui  s'appelle  un  grand 
manoeuvre !  Elliot  eertainement  a  montre  plus  de  vigueur  que  le  fa- 
meux  Lord  Cornwallis — mais  quand  on  connait  le  roc  qu'il  a  defendu, 
la  chose  n'est  pas  tant  extraordinaire.  On  peut  dire  que  les  Dons  ont 
bien  danse  la  folie  d'Espagne. 

Je  vous  aurais  envoy e  copie  de  mon  memoire  au  Congres,  mais  le 
volume  etait  trop  grand.  II  est  de  ma  propre  composition  :  mais  mon 
ami  le  Chancellier  Livingston  a  eu  la  complaisance  de  la  corriger  et 
d'effacer  les  traits,  ou  ma  plume  avait  un  peu  trop  appuve.  Je  viens  de 
caclieter  un  gros  paquet  pour  Messieurs  les  ministres  a  Versailles,  aux- 
quels  je  parle  aussi  clair  en  francais  que  j'ai  parle  Anglois  au  Congres. 
Mr.  de  la  Luzerne  et  Mr.  de  Chattellux  ont  approuve  mon  language,  ils 
m'en  promettent  du  succes.  II  est  dure  de  se  battre  avec  l'Amerique 
et  la  France,  apres  qu'on  a  presque  fait  la  paix  avec  les  Anglois. 

Cette  chienne  de  correspondance  ministerielle  ma'a  coute  infiniment 
de  peines.  Vous  scavez  que  je  suis  sans  assistance,  meme  pour  ma 
correspondance  Angloise.  .  Que  ferai-je  mon  ami,  si  je  dois  faire  encore 
une  campagne  ?  Je  ne  crois  pas  que  Popham  a  envie  de  me  rejoindre ; 
du  moins  je  n'ai  pas  une  ligne  de  lui.  Ou  trouverai-je  un  Walker?  mais 
je  ne  dois  v-ous  rendre  trop  vain.  Mais  serieusement,  ou  trouverai-je 
un  homme  qui  peut  conduire  ma  correspondance  ?  Voyez  un  peu,  si 
vous  pouvez  me  proposer  un  bon  sujet.  Vous  scavez  ce  qu'il  me  faut. 
Je  compte  toujours  sur  mon  North,  vous  scavez  cependant,  que  sa  force 
ne  consiste  pas  dans  sa  plume.  Vous  scavez  aussi,  qu'il  est  aussi  pares- 
seux  qu'il  est  aimable.  Depuis  quatre  semaines  je  n'ai  pas  eu  de  ses 
nouvelles,  ecrivez  lui  et  grondez  le.  Taches  en  meme  temps  de  le  per- 
suader de  me  joindre  au  plus  tard  a  la  fin  de  Mars. 

G-ibbs  m'a  dit  que  les  officiers  de  l'armee  etaient  au  point  de  m'ecrire 
une  lettre  de  reconnaissance.  J'en  aurais  ete  infiniment  flatte ;  dites 
moi  la  raison  qui  a  empeche  ce  projet.  Je  vous  souhaite  une  heureuse 
nouvelle  annee.  N'oubliez  pas  mes  respects  au  general  et  a  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington.    Adieu  mon  ami ! 


XXIV. 


STEUBEN     TO     CHEVALIER    DE    LA    LUZERNE. 

End  of  1782. 

Depuis  votre  ministere  en  Amerique  Monsieur,  vous  m'avez  temo- 
igne  tant  de  bontees  qu'il  ne  me  faut  aucun  autre  encouragement  pour 
reclamer  votre  protection  dans  un  moment  de  detresse. 


APPENDIX.  G81 

Je  n'entrerai  pas  ici  dans  un  narratif  detaille  des  services,  que  j'ai 
rendus  dans  ce  pais,  de  tout  les  obstacles,  que  j'ai  du  surmonter,  du  peu 
de  moyens  que  j'avais — tout  ces  difficulties  ne  vous  sont  que  trop  con- 
nues — je  ne  m'etenderai  non  plus  sur  les  changements  de  notre  etat 
militaire  depuis  que  la  discipline  etait  confiee  a  mes  soins ;  la  comparai- 
son  de  ce  qu'il  etoit  avec  ce  qu'il  est  aujourdhui  doit  justifier  mes  ope- 
rations. L' approbation  des  officiers  de  votre  annee  et  celle  dont  vous 
m'avez  honore  vous  meme,  m'a  persuade  que  mes  peines  n'ont  pas  ete 
mal  employees. 

Mais  Monsieur  c'est  avec  une  peine  inexprimable  que  je  dois  vous 
dire,  qu'il  est  absolument  hors  de  mon  pouvoir  de  soutenir  plus  long- 
temps  la  misere,  a  la  quelle  je  me  vois  reellement  expose. 

Je  me  vois  sans  resource,  sans  credit,  sans  appui,  et  l'idee  qui  me 
chocque  le  plus,  est  celle  que  je  me  vois  etranger  dans  un  pais,  ofi  en 
justice  je  ne  devrois  plus  l'etre,  et  quelquefois  dans  mes  chagrins,  j'at- 
tribue  a  ce  seul  titre  d'etranger  le  peu  d'egards  qu'on  a  pour  ma  condi- 
tion et  mes  services. 

Depuis  cinq  ans  je  ne  suis  pas  plus  paye  que  les  officiers  de  notre 
armee  en  general,  depuis  cinq  ans  il  ne  se  trouve  pas  une  seule  demande 
de  moi  dans  les  journeax  du  Congres,  depuis  cinq  ans  je  n'ai  re9U  au- 
cune  favour  ni  grace. 

Si  j'ai  souffert  pendant  ce  temps  c'etoit  toujours  dans  l'esperance 
qu'un  heureux  changement  de  nos  affaires  adouciroit  mon  sort.  Mais 
c'est  precisement  depuis  le  changement  le  plus  heureux  que  je  me  vois 
le  plus  neglige. 

Le  Secretaire  de  la  Guerre  commenca  son  ministere  par  rogner  les 
emolumens  qui  m'etoient  accordes  en  entrant  dans  le  service ;  il  m'ota 
un  aide  de  camp,  diminua  le  nombre  des  officiers  dans  mon  department, 
etc. 

Ce  ministre,  auquel  je  faisois  tous  les  mois  mes  rapports  de  I'd  tat  de 
l'armee  n'a  pas  daignd  de  me  repondre  une  seule  fois  et  quoique  j'at- 

tribue  son  silence cela  me  decourage,  a  continuer  une  be- 

sogne  ou  je  devrois  etre  soutenu  par  le  Ministre  de  la  Guerre. 

C'est  depuis  ce  temps  que  je  dois  me  plaindre  non  seulement  des  neg- 
ligences mais  des  mauvais  procedes  de  nos  ministres  et  finalement  je  me 
vois  a  present  reduit  a  manquer  de  tout. 

La  crainte  de  m'exposer  a  des  refus  malhonnetes  me  retient  de  faire 
une  demande  quelconque. 

Ma  fortune  epuisee,  la  cherete  et  plus  que  tout  l'indifference  avec 
laquelle  je  me  vois  traite — ^m'engage  a  finir  une  carriere  desagreable  et 
ruineuse.  Mais  avant  de  faire  une  demarche,  permettez  moi,  Monsieur, 
de  reclamer  votre  avis,  la  confiance  dans  vos  bontes  me  fera  suivre  votre 
direction  sans  m'en  ecarter  d'aucune  maniere. 

29* 


682  APPENDIX. 

XXVI. 

*  STEUBEN  TO  CHEVALIER  DE  LA  LUZERNE. 

Five  years  have  passed  away,  while  with  courage  and  perseverance 
I  have  pursued  the  object  to  make  our  army  perfect,  without  requiring 
support  of  those  from  whom  I  had  the  right  to  hope  for  it.  Now,  how- 
ever, is  the  time  when  I  must  know  what  is  to  be  my  lot.  I  must  set- 
tle my  affairs  with  Congress,  and  need  not  tell  you  what  advantage 
would  result  to  me  from  a  recommendation  of  the  Count  De  Vergennes, 
in  which  he  would  authorize  you  to  make  known  to  Congress  and 
to  the  commander-in-chief  that  it  was  with  the  acquiescence  of  the 
court  of  France  that  I  came  over  to  this  country.  I  entreat  you,  chev- 
alier, to  forward  the  inclosed  letter  on  this  subject  to  Count  De  Ver- 
gennes. 

XXVII. 

*STEUBEN  TO  COUNT  DE  VERGENNES. 

After  nearly  six  years  of  labor  and  pains,  will  you  allow  me  to  ask 
for  your  protection  ?  You  know  too  well  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
American  army  to  make  it  necessary  to  describe  in  particular  pay  own. 
A  witness  of  the  favors  which  the  munificence  of  the  king,  your  mas- 
ter, has  generously  bestowed  upon  the  French  officers  who  were  in  our 
army,  I  could  not  but  regret  that  I  had  not  been  in  the  service  of  that 
generous  prince ;  nevertheless,  I  served  in  the  same  cause,  and,  I  may 
say,  with  the  same  zeal.  But  the  United  States  could  not  grant  me  any 
gratuitous  recompense.  Yet  it  is  time  for  Congress  to  decide  my  lot 
for  the  future,  and  I  must  now  solicit  your  protection.  A  letter  from 
you,  authorizing  Mr.  De  La  Luzerne  to  interest  himself  for  me,  would 
obtain  for  me  advantages  which,  as  a  stranger,  I  could  not  hope  for. 
The  report  which  will  be  made  to  you  of  the  army  by  Messrs.  De  Chat- 
telux,  De  Laval,  De  Segur,  Prince  De  Broglio,  Count  De  Deuxponts  and 
others,  will  prove  to  you  that  I  have  taken  great  pains  to  deserve  your 
support.  Encouraged  by  the  approbation  of  your  officers,  I  venture  to 
natter  myself  that  I  shall  receive  the  favor  I  ask  for 


xxvur. 

*    STEUBEN     TO     VERGENNES. 

End  of  1782. 

I  have  for  a  long  time  wished  to  unite  with  the  assurance  of  my  re- 
spect for  you  a  circumstantial  report  of  my  operations  since  my  arrival 


APPENDIX.  683 

here.  If  it  is  important  for  the  general  good  that  you  were  well  in- 
formed of  our  military  condition,  it  is  especially  more  so  for  me  that  the 
details  be  given  you  by  an  enlightened  and  impartial  military  man. 

The  departure  of  Mr.  Le  Chevalier  De  Chattelux  affords  me  the  op- 
portunity so  much  desired.  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  the  report  he  will 
make  to  you,  but  the  wish,  that  my  task  has  been  so  conducted  as  to 
be  honored  by  your  approbation.  With  this,  sir,  I  shall  not  regret  the 
toils  and  obstacles  I  had  to  surmount  in  pursuit  of  my  object. 

The  title  of  foreigner  is  nowhere  so  agreeable  as  in  your  country, 
and  nowhere  so  disagreeable  as  among  the  English.  Though  Americans 
we  were  always  a  little  English  in  this  respect.  I  leave  you  to  judge 
if  it  was  easy  to  introduce  a  Prussian  system  of  subordination  into  an 
army  where  a  few  days  previously  a  captain  had  chosen  his  colonel,  and 
a  sergeant  nominated  his  captain.  To  succeed  in  such  an  undertaking 
requires  either  vast  authority  or  effective  patronage  or  a  great  deal  of 
money.  Entirely  destitute  of  these,  I  confess  that  success  appeared 
very  doubtful  to  me.  In  this  lonely  state  much  firmness  was  required 
to  withstand  the  checks  I  was  exposed  to.  But  the  more  difficult  the 
task  the  more  we  are  animated  to  engage  in  it ;  the  least  success  en- 
courages us  to  persevere  and  finish  the  work  once  begun.  This  is  my 
position  at  present.  It  depends  on  you,  Mr.  le  comte,  to  make  me 
confident  of  success.  With  a  little  support  from  you  I  am  sure  the 
task  will  be  accomplished.  It  is  for  the  general  good  that  I  claim  your 
favor  and  protection. 


XXIX. 

*    STEUBEN     TO     VERGENNES. 

When  I  had  the  honor  of  presenting  my  respects  to  you  at  Ver- 
sailles, I  hoped  to  find  more  frequent  opportunities  of  informing  you  of 
the  success  of  my  enterprise.  It  was,  however,  very  importaut  for  me 
that  the  report  of  my  operations  should  be  sent  you  by  a  military  man 
equally  impartial  and  well  informed.  This  opportunity  is  now  afforded 
by  the  departure  of  Mr.  Le  Chevalier  De  Chattelux  for  France.  He  has 
seen  the  maneuvers  of  the  American  army,  and  although  not  the  only 
French  officer  who  has  honored  the  execution  of  the  system  which  I 
have  established  with  his  approbation,  he  is  more  particularly  informed 
of  the  difficulties  and  obstacles  which  I  have  surmounted  by  the  perse- 
verance and  firmness  which  I  have  employed.  A  stranger  without 
recommendations,  and  often  without  resources,,  the  execution  of  my 
plan  was  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties. 

It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  address  this  letter  to  you,  Mr.  le 


684  APPENDIX. 

comte,  at  a  time  when,  by  the  judgment  of  connoisseurs  in  French 
tactics,  I  am  authorized  to  assure  you  that  the  Americans  have  at 
present  an  infantry  very  superior,  in  order  and  discipline,  to  that  which 
England  can  oppose  to  it.  After  six  years  of  hard  work  will  you  per- 
mit me  to  recall  to  your  memory  the  conversation  in  your  office  ?  It 
is  noted  in  the  annexed  memorial,  at  the  end  of  which  I  have  ventured 
to  lay  open  to  you  my  desires  and  my  wishes.  Believing  that  I  have 
deserved  your  protection,  from  your  way  of  thinking  I  anticipate  suc- 
oess.  The  time  seems  to  approach  when  your  labors  will  be  crowned 
by  a  peace  glorious  to  France,  and  by  the  independence  of  America. 
You  can  not  forget  the  instruments  whose  services  you  have  made  use 
of  to  attain  this  important  object, 

XXX. 

STEUBEN     TO     VERGENNES. 

From  a  Memorial  addressed  to  the  French  Ministry  in  1*782. 
Mr.  De  Steuben,  satisfied  that  the  French  ministry  is  fully  aware  of 
the  condition  of  the  American  army  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  flatters 
himself  that  after  the  report  which  the  Count  De  Rochambeau  and  the 
Chevalier  De  Chattcllux  are  going  to  make,  a  comparative  view  will 
secure  him  the  approbation  of  the  French  court.  The  zeal  and  perse- 
verance with  which,  for  a  period  of  nearly  six  years,  he  has  surmounted 
every  obstacle,  the  difficulty  of  conducting,  his  operations  without  any 
support,  and  almost  without  means,  and  lastly  the  system  which  he 
has  established,  and  the  success  which  has  followed  it,  are  the  titles  on 
which  he  presumes  to  rest  his  claims  to  the  favor  and  munificence  of 
His  most  Christian  Majesty. 

He  binds  himself  to  bring  the  work  he  has  commenced  to  a  termi- 
nation. It  is  only  when  the  war  shall  have  ceased,  and  the  indepen- 
dence of  America  shall  have  been  recognized  by  England,  that  he 
wishes  to  finish  his  days  in  the  dominions  of  His  Majesty.  He  hopes 
to  obtain  from  the  United  States  of  America  an  indemnity  for  the 
sacrifices  he  has  made  to  enable  him  to  enter  into  their  service.  This 
sum  would  nearly  reinstate  him  in  the  same  situation  he  was  in  pre- 
vious to  his  leaving  Europe.  Who  can  he  look  to  for  the  reward  of 
such  a  hazardous  enterprise,  if  it  is  not  to  the  generosity  of  that  prince 
who  has  rewarded  the  smallest  services  rendered  in  this  revolution? 

Encouraged  by  these  examples  of  generosity,  he  presumes  to  take 
the  liberty  of  asking  for  the  favors  mentioned  in  the  following :  That 
His  Majesty  will  condescend,  after  this  war,  to  grant  him  the  same 
rank  in  his  armies  which  he  may  then  hold  in  the  American  service. 
As  his  age  will  hardly  allow  him  to  be  actively  employed,  the  rank 


APPENDIX.  685 

which  he  asks  will  not  cause  any  jealousy  in  the  army.  That  will  be 
a  title  wished  for  by  an  old  soldier  which  would  confer  great  honor 
upon  him,  the  sole  object  of  his  ambition. 

That  His  Majesty  will  add  to  the  pension  which  Mr.  De  Steuben 
hopes  to  obtain  from  Congress,  such  a  sum  as  will  yield  him  a  life- 
interest  of  20,000  livres  per  annum,  to  enable  him  to  end  his  days  at 
ease  in  the  States  of  the  king. 

Mr.  De  Steuben  is  emboldened  to  beseech  the  Count  De  Vergennes 
to  grant  him  his  influence  for  obtaining  the  favor  which  he  asks.  It  is 
worthy  of  the  munificence  of  the  king.  It  will  be  the  reward  of  an  old 
soldier  who  has  sacrificed  all  to  attain  so  interesting  an  object  as  the 
independence  of  America. 

XXXI. 

*    STEUBEN     TO     TnE    PRINCE     DE     MONTBAREY. 

1733. 

Permit  me  to  recall  to  your  recollection  an  old  soldier  always 
mindful  of  the  many  kindnesses  you  have  shown  him  in  former  days. 

Five  years  have  elapsed  since  you  approved  an  enterprise,  the  suc- 
cess of  which  at  that  time,  and  indeed  for  a  long  time  after,  seemed  to 
be  very  problematical.  Although  the  work  is  not  yet  entirely  finished, 
it  is  too  advanced  to  doubt  its  completion  any  longer.  Since  I  last  had 
the  honor  of  seeing  you  at  Versailles  I  have  not  been  idle.  The  five 
campaigns  in  America  have  afforded  me  greater  experience  than  thirty- 
four  years'  service  in  Europe.  How  fortunate  you  are,  generals  in 
Europe !  You  get  an  army  and  means  and  have  nothing  to  do  but  act. 
It  is  not  so  with  us ;  Congress  tells  us  :  Look  for  your  army,  find  the 
means,  and  manage  as  well  as  you  can. 

Le  Chevalier  De  Chattellux  will  give  you  more  perfect  information 
on  the  matter  than  I  can.  I  have  requested  him  at  the  same  time  to 
give  you  the  details  of  my  proceedings.  I  should  consider  myself  very 
fortunate  should  you  deign  to  honor  them  with  your  approval.  But  prince, 
when  Mr.  De  Chattellux  tells  you  what  I  have  done  to  merit  your  appro- 
bation, he  will  tell  you  also  how  much  the  non-receipt  of  any  mark  of 
it  has  pained  me.  M.  Gerard,  M.  De  La  Luzerne,  M.  De  Chattellux 
arrived  one  after  the  other,  without  the  ministers  at  Versailles  making 
any  mention  to  them  of  an  honest  German  who  had  the  honor  of  being 
known  to  the  Prince  De  Montbarey  and  other  respectable  persons.  It 
has  cost  me  much  to  be  deprived  of  the  comfort  such  an  avowal  would 
have  afforded  me.  It  is  not  as  agreeable  to  be  a  foreigner  in  America 
as  it  is  in  France,  particularly  when  so  strange  a  doctrine  is  preached  in 
a  republic  as  obedience  and  subordination.     But  I  do  not  want  to  pick 


686  APPENDIX. 

a  quarrel  with  you ;  I  flatter  myself  that  having  steered  the  ship  without 
assistance,  will  entitle  me  somewhat  to  your  esteem.  Your  military 
men  have  seen  the  maneuvers  of  the  American  army ;  my  labors  have 
been  honored  by  their  approval.  What  more  can  I  require  to  make  me 
vain  ? 

XXXII. 

VERGENNES     TO     STEUBEN. 

Versailles,  le  21  Juillet,  1783. 
J'ai  recu,  Monsieur,  la  lettre  que  vous  m'avez  fait  l'honneur  de 
m'ecrire  le  30  Septembre.  J'ai  toujours  pris  la  plus  grande  part  a  vos 
succes,  vous  avez  rendu  des  services  essentiels  aux  Etats  Unis,  et  je  ne 
doute  pas  que  vous  n'en  recueilliez  tout  le  fruit  que  vous  avez  droit 
d'en  attendre. 

J'ai  l'honneur  d'etre  tres  sincerement,  Monsieur,  votre  tres  humble 
et  tres  obeissant  serviteur, 

De  Vergennes. 

XXXIII. 

COUNT  E.  S.  DE  IIERTZBERG,  PRUSSIAN    SECRETARY   OF    STATE,  TO  MR.  DUMAS, 
MINISTER-RESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES,    AT    THE    HAGUE. 

Berlin,  le  25  FecHer,  1783. 

Monsieur, — J'ai  l'honneur  de  vous  dire  en  reponse  a  votre  lettre, 
qu'il  faudrait  beaucoup  d'ecritures  pour  vous  envoyer  un  etat  detaille  de 
la  paie  et  de  la  subsistance  de  l'armee  Prussienne,  et  que  je  serais 
oblige  de  vous  demandre  encore  des  eclaircissements  sur  ce  qui  fait  le 
veritable  but  et  objet  de  cette  recherche.  S'il  est  pour  l'information  des 
Etats  Unis  d'Amerique  ils  pouvoient  y  parvenir  plus  aisement  puisqu'ils 
ont  a  leur  service  Mr.  le  General  de  Steuben,  qui  a  ete  autrefois  au  ser- 
vice Prussien,  que  le  connait  au  fond  et  qui  est  un  officier  fort  intelli- 
gent, 

Je  suis,  Monsieur,  votre  tres,  etc. 

XXXIV. 

*    STEUBEN      TO      NORTH.    (?) 

/Summer  of  17S3. 

It  is  so  difficult  to  correspond  with  one  so  lazy  as  you  are,  that  I 

often  throw  down  my  pen  when  I  have  the  most  cheerful  things  to  tell 

you.     This  disbandment  of  the  army,  for  instance,  was  so  thoroughly 

comic  that  you  would  laughed  yourself  sick  had  you  seen  it.     I  drew 


AP  PENDIX  .  687 

the  most  amusing  picture  of  it  for  your  special  entertainment,  but  all  of 
a  sudden  I  thought,  u  The  lazy  fellow  does  not  deserve  it,"  and  I  tore 
up  the  work.  The  good  man  whose  portfolio  was  always  for  the  army, 
Pandora's  box,  no  sooner  communicated  his  dispatches,  than  the  senti- 
ments concerning  them  were  of  the  most  diverse  character.  The  most 
stupid  were  in  ecstacies  of  admiration  at  his  great  policy  ;  the  most  vi- 
olent swore,  and  the  most  feeble  shed  tears.  I  leave  you  to  judge  to 
what  class  your  old  friend  belonged.  Well,  yes,  since  you  guess  it, 
what  is  the  use  of  denying  it  ?  I  swore  like  an  English  sailor  who  has 
not  been  paid  his  wages.  I  could  not  conceal  my  surprise  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, that  the  minister  of  war  could  become  the  bearer  and 
the  executor  of  such  strange  arrangements.  One  of  the  poor  man's 
friends  undertook  to  defend  him,  by  assuring  me  that  it  was  altogether 
against  his  inclination,  but  the  finance  minister  compelled  him  to  do  all 
these  things,  and  that  he  treated  the  good  man  in  the  most  comtemptu- 
ous  manner.  Enraged  as  I  was,  I  could  not  refrain  from  laughing  at  this 
exculpation.  The  wicked,  big  Morris,  to  treat  a  good  fellovV  in  such  a 
shameful  manner !  The  next  day  I  dined  with  the  good  man,  at  the 
house  of  our  friend  Pickering.  The  company  was  far  from  gay.  I  was 
as  angry  as  the  devil.  The  good  man  might  have  been  very  jolly,  but 
these  gloomy  countenances  afflicted  him  to  that  degree  that  he  ate 
nothing  but  some  pudding  and  cheese.  After  dinner  he  took  me  aside, 
and  asked  me  if  I  could  not  lend  him  a  little  money.  I  told  him  po- 
litely that  my  finances  were  a  miniature  copy  of  those  of  the  new  em- 
pire. He  sighed,  and  in  order  not  to  leave  me  in  any  doubt  of  his  kind- 
heartedness,  he  said  that  he  wanted  a  little  money,  in  order  to  give 
three  or  four  dollars  to  some  officers  of  his  acquaintance  (probably  from 
his  country),  to  enable  them  to  get  home.  What  an  excellent  heart  had 
this  minister  of  war,  and  how  wicked  was  Morris  to  send  this  excel- 
lent fellow  without  giving  him  a  little  money  to  show  the  generosity  of 
his  soul.  He  executed  his  commission,  however ;  sent  the  vagabonds 
home,  without  giving  them  time  to  breathe.  There  was  nothing  said 
about  settling  accounts.  "  G-o  in  peace,"  was  the  pass-word ;  and  in 
three  days  they  were  so  dispersed  that  they  never  will  be  found  to- 
gether again  until  the  day  of  judgment.  Is  not  this  the  day  that  all  the 
preachers  say  that  all  accounts  will  be  settled  ?  Well,  I  shall  hold  my- 
self in  readiness  for  that  day.  But  let  us  return  to  our  glorious  work. 
Numbers  of  these  warriors  are  gone  to  New  York ;  several  are  gone  to 
the  islands,  and  others  to  Ireland.  As  to  these  we  are  rid  of  them  with- 
out paying  a  cent,  and  that  is  so  much  gained  for  our  dear  country. 

Will  you  not  be  wicked  enough  to  call  me  a  sad  dog,  wdien  you 
read  of  this  disbandment  ?  I  know  you.  You  are  just  the  man  to  do 
so,  and  to  accuse  your  best  friend.     It  is  not  the  first  time  that  you 


G88  APPENDIX. 

called  me  a  sour-tempered  fellow.  Say  whatever  you  please,  I  know 
that  I  am  only  too  good-natured.  The  proof  is  that  I  am  fond  of  you, 
notwithstanding  your  laziness  and  all  your  other  faults.  Say  what  you 
will,  only  let  me  get  vent  for  my  spleen.  As  you  are  in  the  habit  of 
burning  my  letters,  I  willingly  offer  you  this  one  lor  the  same  purpose. 
Let  us  then  return  to  the  stage.  Every  man  played  his  part  in  the  mel- 
ancholy scene  according  to  his  character.  As  I  could  not  trust  my 
temper,  I  shut  myself  up  in  my  rooms  and  pleaded  illness.  Each  corps 
was  disbanded  by  separate  orders  to  the  commander  of  each  regiment, 
with  the  exception  of  the  general  order  announcing  the  resolution  of 
Congress.  Each  corps  dispersed  without  leave-taking  on  either  side. 
As  Congress  said  nothing  to  either  officers  or  soldiers,  the  commander- 
in-chief  did  not  see  fit  to  say  any  thing,  although  every  one  considered 
this  an  absolute  dismissal.  I  was  the  only  person  who  had  to  bear  the 
sad  farewells  of  the  officers  and  soldiers.  They  came  to  visit  me  in  my 
retreat,  and  nearly  all  of  them,  in  heart-broken  accents,  began  the  con- 
versation by  asking  me  what  I  thought  of  the  way  in  which  they  had 
been  dismissed.  Not  venturing  to  say  what  I  thought,  I  had  nothing 
left  to  do  but  assure  them  of  my  friendship,  and  console  them  as  well 
as  I  could.  The  New  York  regiments,  which  were  a  model  of  disci- 
pline and  order  for  the  entire  army,  were  disbanded  the  same  day.  The 
officers  did  me  the  honor  to  present  me  an  address,  of  which  I  inclose 
you  a  copy.  As  they  only  addressed  their  governor  and  myself,  how 
do  you  think  the  proceeding  will  be  regarded  ?  However  that  may 
be,  I  feel  infinitely  flattered,  and  their  kindly  sentiments  towards  me 
will  be  the  consolation  of  my  old  days.  But,  my  friend,  if  Congress 
requires  me  to  produce  other  certificates  than  those  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers — those  same  officers  and  soldiers  from  whom  I  have  exacted  a 
rigid  performance  of  duty — if  Congress  requires  certificates  from  my 
superiors  to  settle  my  recompense,  they  may  save  our  dear  country  a 
very  large  expense. 

XXXV. 

*  STEUBEN  TO  RICHARD  PETERS. 

End  of  1788. 
I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  23d.  This  glorious  peace  has 
caused  a  great  change  in  my  way  of  thinking.  You  know,  my  dear 
friend,  that  I  have  often  lamented,  like  Heraclitus,  the  follies  of  the  hu- 
man race.  But  I  now  laugh,  like  Democritus,  particularly  at  our  ex- 
travagance. A  money,  without  gold  or  silver ;  military  schools  where 
they  teach  the  Presbyterian  catechism  ;  arsenals  filled  with  the  Word 
of  God ;  and  even  the  hereditary  sin  of  Congress,  an  empty  purse,  are 


APPENDIX.  G89 

things  to  make  the  gloomiest  pedagogue  laugh.  But  what  will  the 
world  say  if  this  great  independent  empire,  which  has  supported  a  war 
for  eight  years  against  Great  Britain,  can  not  support  itself  during  one 
year  of  peace  ?  0  !  Fathers  of  the  Areopagus,  spare  the  poor  Ameri- 
cans this  ridicule.  Do  not  make  money  without  metal,  nor  arsenals 
without  arms.  u  Has  not  this  old  German  baron  plenty  of  reason  to 
laugh  at  his  own  folly  ?"  you  will  say,  as  a  member  of  Congress.  "  Must 
he  always  amuse  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  sovereigns  ?"  Stop,  mem- 
ber of  Congress !  I  am  a  Baron  of  the  Holy  Eoman  Empire,  conse- 
quently a  sovereign  myself.  Quite  as  poor,  but  quite  as  proud  as  any 
American  senator,  I  retain  the  privilege  of  laughing  at  your  folly  as  I 
laugh  at  those  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  or  of  kings.  Will  they  believe 
in  Europe,  that  after  seven  years  of  war  this  country  is  quite  as  thickly 
populated,  if  not  more  so,  as  it  was  when  the  war  began;  that  at  this 
moment  the  country  is  quite  as  widely  cultivated,  has  as  much  mer- 
chandise and  far  more  coin  than  it  had  before  the  war ;  that  its  com- 
merce is  more  extended  than  ever,  and  its  ports  the  markets  of  the 
world ;  that  everybody  has  more  of  every  thing  than  he  needs ;  that 
among  three  millions  of  men,  thirteen  (certainly  the  most  enlightened) 
have  been  chosen  to  govern  this  vast  empire  ;  and  that  this  same  vast 
empire  has  no  more  credit  than  the  smallest  village  in  the  Canton  of 
Grisons  ?  0  !  Fathers  of  the  Areopagus,  suffer  not  the  Grisons  and  the 
Grisettes  to  laugh  at  us !  Go  on,  gentlemen;  when  Providence  gives 
you  wisdom,  I  shall  lose  the  greatest  object  of  my  mirth. 

"  But,  gentlemen  laughers,  what  would  you  do  if  you  were  Con- 
gress, without  money,  without  credit,  without  authority,  and  the  people 
unwilling  to  pay  taxes  ?"  The  case  is  certainly  a  difficult  one.  As  a 
Prussian  officer  I  shall  reply — .  But  that  won't  do.  I  should  resort 
to  common  sense.  I  should  beg  common  sense  to  speak  to  the  people 
in  its  own  language  (the  most  unintelligible  to  the  people) ;  to  explain 
first  the  advantages  that  result  from  the  independence  obtained  by 
peace ;  then  the  debt  they  have  contracted  to  obtain  these  advantages ; 
the  necessity  to  pay  these  debts  to  maintain  the  national  credit ;  the 
decline  of  a  nation  and  of  each  individual  inhabitant,  when  the  national 
credit  declines ;  the  advantages  of  a  solid  confederation  to  secure  the 
property  of  every  citizen  ;  and  finally,  1  would  beg  common  sense  to 
show  the  people  a  bill,  as  simple  as  that  of  a  butcher,  of  the  general 
debt,  the  annual  interest,  the  division  of  this  interest  among  the  inhab- 
itants, and  the  sum  required  to  pay  it  off  and  provide  for  the  wants  and 
the  security  of  the  empire,  also  divided  among  the  people.  The  people, 
seeing  that  this  sum  will  be  very  small  (which  it  ought  to  be),  will  not 
hesitate  to  adopt  the  proposed  measures. 

I  think  that  a  pamphlet  written  by  Common  Sense  on  this  subject 


690  APPENDIX. 

would  produce  a  better  effect  than  all  the  recommendations  of  Congress 
in  prose  and  verse.     "  But  if  the  people  will  not  listen  to  Common 
Sense  ?"     In  that  case,  I  should  say  to  such  a  people,  "  Go  to  the  devil 
with  your  independence." 
Adieu,  my  dear  friend. 

XXXVI. 

*    STEUBEN     TO     KNOX. 

Belisarius  Hall  on  the  Schuylkill, 

February  4th,  17S4,  in  a  long  evening. 

My  Dear  Knox, — I  hope  that  North  has  told  you  how  deeply  I  re- 
gretted quitting  the  army  without  bidding  you  adieu  at  West  Point.  The 
presence  of  the  Secretary  of  War  delayed  me  three  days  longer  than  I 
expected.  I  intended  to  devote  those  three  days  to  seeing  you,  my 
friend ;  to  present  my  most  respectful  compliments  to  your  lady ;  to 
take  your  orders  for  Philadelphia — perhaps  for  Europe.  I  wanted  to 
ask  you  for  letters  and  advice ;  but  this  minister — this  man  who  de- 
ranges every  thing  without  knowing  how  to  arrange  any  thing — spoiled 
my  favorite  project  of  seeing  my  friend,  the  Governor  of  Eldorado,  or 
of  West  Point — which  is  almost  the  same  thing,  except  that  the  sheep 
are  not  rose  color,  and  the  young  Incas  play  with  pebbles  which  are  not 
exactly  diamonds. 

Here  I  am,  my  friend,  in  a  country-house  three  miles  distant  from 
— Athens  ? — Eome  ? — no,  'tis  Philadelphia.  I  regard  with  veneration 
the  seat  of  our  Areopagus,  at  a  certain  distance.  As  a  connoisseur  looks 
at  and  examines  the  pictures  of  Eubens  or  Van  Dyck,  he  admires  the 
boldness  and  magnificence  of  these  chefs  d'ceuvre  at  a  proper  distance 
from  them ;  and  were  he  to  approach  one  step  nearer,  he  would  see 
nothing  but  a  mass  of  colors  jumbled  together,  and  stains,  which,  how- 
ever, are.necessary  to  produce  the  general  effect; — so  do  I  admire  at  a 
distance  of  three  miles.  But  away  with  these  comparisons.  I  am 
going  to  write  myself  out  of  the  best  of  all  republics.  The  fact  is,  that 
I  am  in  the  country  because  I  have  not  the  wherewithal  to  live  in 
town  ;  because  I  will  not  dine  with  anybody  for  the  reason  that  I  can 
not  give  anybody  a  dinner ;  because  I  do  not  pay  visits  to  people  who 
do  not  visit  honest  men  ;  and  because  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  in  so- 
ciety where  I  can  not  damn  certain  persons  in  high  office  and  particu- 
larly "  the  great  disturbers." 

Here  are  reasons  enough,  I  think,  for  living  in  my  barrel,  like  Dio- 
genes, and  for  cursing  the  human  race.  In  my  execrations,  I  always 
except  the  general  and  the  army,  as  an  Italian  sailor  always  excepts 
San  Antonio  of  Padua,  before  he  sends  all  the  other  saints  to  the 


APPENDIX.  C91 

devil.  How  fortunate  you  are  to  belong  to  the  army ;  otherwise  you 
would  be  damned  along  with  the  rest  of  the  crowd.  God  forgive  me  ! 
Here  is  an  entire  page  of  large  foolscap  covered  with  nonsense.  Why 
is  it,  I  wonder,  that  I  can  never  speak  rationally  with  you  ?  My  per- 
sonal position  is  serious  enough.  I  am  ruined,  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  word.  The  Prussian  service  cost  me  half  my  fortune  ;  but  it  won 
me  esteem  and  consideration  in  the  Old  World.  The  American  service 
costs  me  the  rest  of  my  worldly  possessions,  and  the  ministers  treat 
me  worse  than  a  vagrant  in  this  New  World.  No,  I  can  not  and  will 
not  suffer  any  longer.  I  can  not  any  longer  depend  on  persons  who 
are  incapable  of  recognizing  a  man's  merit  and  social  condition.  Let 
Congress  deal  with  its  ministers  or  cease  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with 
me.  This  is  my  final  determination.  I  am  satisfied  with  having  shown 
to  those  who  understand  the  art  of  war,  an  American  army  worthy  of 
their  approbation ;  an  infantry  such  as  England  has  never  brought  into 
the  field ;  officers  who  understand  their  profession,  and  who  would  do 
honor  to  any  army  in  Europe ;  and  soldiers  who  are  well  drilled  and 
obedient.  I  am  satisfied  with  having  saved  the  country,  since  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  inspector-generalship,  at  least  $600,000  in  arms  and 
accouterments  alone.  (You  can  decide  if  I  am  guilty  of  exaggeration 
in  this  regard.)  I  am  satisfied  with  having  won  the  esteem  and  confi- 
dence of  the  officers  and  soldiers ;  and  I  am  satisfied  with  having  done 
my  duty  honorably  on  all  occasions  that  I  was  called  upon  to  act.  I 
regret,  however,  that  political  considerations  deprived  me  of  other  op- 
portunities of  distinction  ;  and  I  shall  always  regret  that  circumstances, 
perhaps,  induced  me  to  undertake  the  defense  of  a  country  where 
Caesar  and  Hannibal  would  have  lost  their  reputation,  and  where  every 
farmer  is  a  general,  but  where  nobody  wishes  to  be  a  soldier.  I  am 
sorry  that  I  was  obliged  to  solicit  the  command  of  a  division  at  the  siege 
of  York,  but  I  am  glad  that  I  obtained  it,  and  proved  that  it  was  not 
the  first  siege  at  which  I  had  served  as  an  officer.  In  short,  my  friend, 
I  am  glad  that  I  kept  my  word  to  form  a  regular  and  well-drilled  army, 
in  spite  of  the  numberless  obstacles  that  I  met  with.  I  had  a  hard 
task  to  overcome  the  prejudices — well  or  ill  founded — against  all  for- 
eigners. Without  support,  without  credit,  not  knowing  a  word  of  the 
language,  and  what  is  more,  without  flattering  anybody,  I  am  some- 
times astonished  that  I  was  able  to  succeed  at  all  in  my  task.  Never- 
theless the  work  is  accomplished.  It  only  wants  care  and  diligence  to 
'make  it  perfect.  This  is  not  so  easily  done  as  some  people  fancy.  A 
year,  a  campaign  of  neglect,  and  you  may  bid  farewell  to  order  and  dis- 
cipline. The  campaign  of  '81  demonstrated  this  thoroughly.  I  should 
be  willing  to  place  our  battalions  alongside  of  the  French  (I  do  not  of 
course  speak  of  their  dress) ;  but  undress  them,  and  any  one  who  un- 


692  appendix:. 

derstands  it  will  declare  that  they  are  troops  which  would  do  honor  to 
any  European  army.  Do  not  accuse  me  of  gasconading.  I  refer  to 
the  judgment  of  French  officers  who,  and  not  our  minister  of  war,  will 
make  the  report  of  our  army  in  Europe. 

"But  what  is  the  good  of  all  this,"  a  philosopher  would  say,  "  when 
you  have  nothing  to  eat  ?  And  this  is  exactly  your  case,  Mr.  Inspector 
General.  If  an  honest  Tory  had  not  lent  you  yesterday  fifty  louis,  you 
would  be  dinnerless  to-day.  If  a  good  quakeress  had  not  given  you 
a  bed,  you  would  be  lying  on  straw.  You  were  five  years  in  the  coun- 
try, and  notwithstanding  your  brilliant  services  you  have  not  received 
the  honor  of  citizenship.  You  are  called,  in  plain  English,  '  a  stranger/ 
even  sometimes  •  an  adventurer,'  and  you  are  treated  accordingly." 
This  same  philosopher  told  me  that  he  lately  heard  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from allude  to  my  dissatisfaction  in  about  the  following 

terms:  "What  can  he  complain  of?  Has  he  not  received  his  rations, 
and  for  the  service  which  he  may  have  done,  he  will  receive  his  wage3 
like  our  officers,  and  then  let  him  go,"  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

Oh,  Mr.  Philosopher,  you  are  a  Tory.  It  is  not  possible  that  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  would  use  such  language.  You  tell  me  this  only  to 
put  me  in  a  passion — to  make  me  abandon  the  good  cause.  But  I  won't 
do  so.  I  am  a  man  of  honor,  and  I  will  fulfill  my  engagements,  not- 
withstanding the  little  slights  of  the  ministers  or  the  silly  talk  of  a 
single  member  of  Congress.  We  are  in  a  republic,  where,  thank  God ! 
honors  are  not  hereditary,  as  the  title  of  baron  is  in  Germany.  This 
member  will,  perhaps,  be  sent  about  his  business,  as  a  disgrace  to  a  re- 
spectable body,  and  the  minister  will  perhaps  be  soon  sent  back  to  his 
old  trade,  and  then  every  thing  will  go  on  well  in  our  young  republic. 

This  is  the  way  I  reason,  and  the  devil  himself  can  not  persuade 
me  to  abandon  the  good  cause.  I  watch  from  a  distance  the  turn 
things  are  taking ;  but  let  what  will  happen,  unless  the  great  disturb- 
ers disturb  me,  I  will  not  disturb  myself.  Hunger  alone  will  oblige  me 
to  get  leave  and  go  to  Europe,  where  at  least  "  our  great  and  good  ally" 
will  give  me  "  the  common  rations,"  and  then — and  then — and  then — 
nothing  is  certain  except  that  after  all  one's  follies,  one  can  not  avoid 
the  last — that  of  dying.  My  friends  in  America,  however,  have  an  op- 
portunity to  commit  another,  namely,  to  erect  a  monument  to  my 
memory.  The  inscription  will  be  found  all  ready  on  the  tomb  of  the 
celebrated  poet  who  died  of  hunger  in  England. 

Enough  of  this  raving,  my  dear  Knox ;  but  there  is  a  good  deal  of  • 
truth  in  it.  Have  no  news,  except  that  my  wagoner  has  just  told  me 
that  a  new  president  was  elected  yesterday — M.  Boudinot  of  Jersey. 
He  is  a  fine  man,  whom  I  love  and  esteem.  God  be  praised  that  the 
world  is  not  as  bad  as  my  cynic  philosopher  represents  it. 


APPENDIX.  693 

Give  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Knox.     Always  your  sincere  friend  and 
servant.  Steuben. 


XXXVII. 

FREEDOM    OF   THE    CITY    OF   ALBANY,    PRESENTED    TO    STEUBEN. 

Albany,  July  23tf,  1788. 

Sir, — Engaged  in  a  war,  the  event  of  which  must  inevitably  in- 
volve the  happiness  or  misery  of  millions  and  their  posterity,  America 
was  much  indebted  to  such  of  her  virtuous  sons  who  gallantly  stepped 
forth  to  vindicate  their  country's  injured  rights,  but  more  grateful  sen- 
sations were  excited  toward  those  who,  interested  in  our  contest  from 
a  regard  to  the  liberties  of  mankind,  and  impelled  by  a  love  of  honor 
and  ardent  wish  to  contribute  to  the  establishment  of  our  independence, 
sacrificed  their  domestic  ease  and  happiness  to  aid  in  repelling  a  cruel, 
hostile  and  tyrannic  foe. 

Among  those,  sir,  whom  America's  just  cause  induced  to  rank  among 
her  defenders,  she  will  always  cherish  with  gratitude  the  remembrance 
of  the  man,  who  with  unabating  perseverance  has  labored  to  form  her 
armies,  and  who  has  so  materially  contributed  to  render  them  respect- 
able for  discipline  and  regularity. 

Impressed  with  these  ideas,  permit  us  as  members  of  the  Corpora- 
tion of  this  city  to  congratulate  you,  sir,  upon  your  arrival  in  it,  and 
as  a  mark  of  the  respect  we  entertain  for  you,  sir,  and  the  sense  of  the 
services  you  have  rendered  our  country,  to  beg  your  acceptance  of  the 
freedom  of  our  city,  and  to  express  our  wish  that  the  presence  of  our 
Mayor  could  have  enabled  us  to  address  you  as  a  Corporation ;  but  as 
our  charter  authorizes  any  three  of  the  aldermen  to  grant  the  freedom 
of  the  city,  we  indulge  in  the  idea  with  pleasure  of  having  the  honor 
of  considering  you,  sir,  as  one  of  our  fellow-citizens. 


Know  all  men  by  those  presents,  that  we,  Peter  W.  Yates,  Corne- 
lius Cuyler,  John  Jas.  Beeckman,  Philip  Van  Rensselaer,  Thomas  Hun 
and  Abraham  Schuyler,  Esqrs.,  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Albany,  being 
well  assured  of  the  great  and  distinguished  services  rendered  to  this 
country  by  the  Honorable  Major  General  Baron  de  Steuben,  Inspector 
General  of  the  American  army,  do  admit  him  a  freeman  of  the  said 
city,  hereby  giving  and  granting  unto  him  all  the  rights,  liberties  and 
privileges  which  an  inhabitant  and  freeman  of  the  said  city  has  or  is 
entitled  to  enjoy.  In  testimony  whereof  we  have  to  these  presents 
subscribed  our  names  and  caused  the  public  seal  of  the  said  city  to  be 


694  APPENDIX. 

affixed,  the  23d  day  of  July  in  the  8th  year  of  our  independence  and 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1783. 

Peter  W.  Yates.  John  Jas.  Beeckman. 

Thomas  Hun.  Abraham  Schuyler. 

Philip  Van  Rensselaer.  Cornelius  Cuyler. 


XXXVIII. 

Steuben's    answer    to    the    city    of    Albany. 

The  measure  in  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  notice  me  de- 
mands my  most  respectful  acknowledgment.  I  feel  myself  exceedingly 
nattered  by  the  honor  I  receive  in  being  ranked  among  the  citizens 
of  this  ancient  and  respectable  city,  and  will  ever  hold  it  in  grateful 
remembrance. 

Love  of  honor  and  a  regard  to  the  liberties  of  mankind  led  me  to 
America ;  but  the  virtues  of  her  brave  sons  have  urged  my  stay,  and 
induced  me  to  the  exertion  of  every  talent  I  was  possessed  of  in  her 
service.  I  have  been  happy  enough  to  see  the  completion  of  my 
wishes:  America  superior  to  all  her  enemies! 

I  should  have  been  happy  in  paying  my  respects  to  the  worshipful 
Mayor,  but  his  absence  unfortunately  deprives  me  of  that  honor. 

I  beg  the  Recorder,  Aldermen  and  Assistants  of  this  respectable 
city  will  do  justice  to  my  sensibility  on  this  occasion,  and  accept  my 
sincere  wishes  for  its  prosperity  and  happiness.  With  the  most  pro- 
found respect,  etc. 

XXXIX. 

FREEDOM    OF    THE    CITY    OF    NEW   YORK,    PRESENTED    TO    STEUBEN. 

City  of  New  York,  ss.  **"  Y°RK'  °ctober  ** 1T84' 

By  James  Duane,  Esqr.,  Mayor,  and  the  Recorder,  Aldermen  and 
Assistants  of  the  City  of  New  York  in  Common  Council  convened,  To 
all  people  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come  or  concern,  Greeting  • 
Whereas  the  Honorable  Frederick  William  Baron  de  Steuben,  Major 
General  and  Inspector  General  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  among  other  individuals  who  have  distinguished  themselves 
in  our  happy  Revolution,  hath  rendered  important  services,  and  this 
country  is  more  especially  indebted  to  his  well-directed  efforts  for  the 
introduction  of  that  system  into  our  military  establishment  on  which 
the  reputation  and  success  of  our  arms  so  much  depended  ;  the  bat- 
tle of  Monmouth  soon  after  the  commencement  of  his  labors  and  every 


APPENDIX.  695 

subsequent  event  of  the  late  war  being  memorable  proofs  of  the  utility 
of  that  system  in  the  field ;  and  the  records  of  Congress  bearing  tes- 
timony in  how  great  a  degree  it  contributed  to  promote  the  interests 
of  national  economy ;  Now  therefore  know  ye,  that  we,  being  mindful 
of  the  distinguished  merit  of  the  said  Baron  de  Steuben,  have  received 
and  admitted,  and  by  those  presents  do  receive  and  admit  the  said 
Baron  de  Steuben  to  be  a  freeman  of  the  said  city,  within  the  limits 
of  which  he  hath  chosen  his  residence,  to  hold,  exercise  and  enjoy  all 
the  privileges,  advantages  and  immunities  to  the  freedom  of  the  said 
city  incident  and  appertaining,  as  a  public  mark  of  the  sense  we  enter- 
tain of  his  services,  of  our  esteem  for  him  personally,  and  of  the  in- 
terest we  take  in  his  happiness. — In  testimony  whereof  we  have  caused 
the  public  seal  of  the  said  city  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  and  these  pres- 
ents to  be  inclosed  in  a  golden  box.  Witness  James  Duane,  Esquire, 
Mayor  of  the  said  city,  this  eleventh  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four,  and  of  the. inde- 
pendence of  the  State  of  New  York  the  ninth.  James  Duane. 
By  order  of  the  Common  Council. 

Robert  Benson,  Clerk. 

(L.  S.) 

XL. 

STEUBEN     TO     PRINCE     HENRY     OF     PRUSSIA. 

1785. 

Monseigneur, — Apres  une  guerre  de  sept  ans  j'ai  pour  la  seconde 
fois,  et  en  apparence  pour  la  derniere  fois — depose  cette  epee,  dont  je 
fis  le  premier  usage  sous  les  ordres  de  Yotre  Altesse  Royale.  Je  me 
flatte,  Monseigneur,  que  mes  travaux  militaires  dans  cette  hemisphere 
ne  m'ont  pas  rendu  indigne  de  me  vanter  de  la  gloire  d'avoir  fait  mon 
apprentissage  sous  un  prince,  qui  ne  fait  pas  moins  l'admiration  de 
l'Amerique  que  des  autres  parties  clu  globe.  Le  succes  de  cette  revo- 
lution m'a  procure  plusieurs  marques  de  distinction  qui  flattent  l'am- 
bition  d'un  soldat,  mais  l'assurance  qu'on  m'a  donnee,  que  Votre  Altesse 
Royale  daigne  encore  se  souvenir  de  moi,  fait  le  comble  de  ma  gloire. 
Aussi  ne  fallait-il  pas  moins  pour  m'encourager  d'adresser  a  Votre  Al- 
tesse Royale  ce  temoignage  de  mes  profonds  respects. 

Le  sieur  Littelpage,  Americain  et  Capitaine  au  service  d'Espagne, 
aura  l'honneur  de  presenter  celle-ci  a  Votre  Altesse  Royale.  Ce  jeune 
officier  s'est  distingue  dans  la  derniere  guerre  a  Mahon  et  Gibraltar  sous 
les  ordres  du  Due  de  Crillon  et  du  Prince  de  Nassau.  Son  inclination 
pour  ce  metier  excite  en  lui  cette  ambition  louable  de  se  faire  connaitre 
des  grands  capitaines  d'Europe.     Dispose  a  lui  rendre  les  plus  grands 


696  APPENDIX. 

services,  j'ose  supplier  Votre  Altesse  Royale  do  l'honneur  de  sa  haute 
protection.     II  m'a  donne  sa  parole  de  s'en  rendre  digne. 

XLI. 

*    STEUBEN   TO    TIIE    DUKE    DE    MONTMORENCY. 

1785. 

Monsieur  Le  Due, — 

The  bearer  of  this  letter,  Mr.  Littelpage,  captain  in  the  Spanish 
service,  wishes  me  to  give  him  letters  to  military  men  in  France.  To 
whom,  sooner  than  to  yourself,  could  I  direct  him  ?  The  distinction 
which  he  won  at  the  capture  of  Minorca,  under  the  Duke  De  Crillon, 
and  at  Gibraltar  under  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  entitle  him  to  your  kind- 
ness and  protection.  But  while  I  claim  your  good  offices  for  a  young 
soldier,  allow  me,  at  the  same  time,  to  ask  your  kind  consideration  for 
the  old  soldier  who  has  the  honor  to  present  him  to  you.  The  proofs 
that  you  gave  me  in  America  of  your  friendship,  are  too  precious  not 
to  wish  for  their  continuance.  I  have  no  longer  any  correspondents  in 
your  country.  France  has  forgotten  me.  But  you  are  too  generous 
not  to  be  an  exception.  I  send  you,  inclosed,  a  little  pamphlet  con- 
taining a  plan  for  the  organization  of  a  militia,  which  I  am  heartily 
anxious  to  see  executed.  Do  me  the  favor  to  look  over  it  and  to  let 
me  know  your  opinion  of  it. 

Your  ministry  at  Versailles  is  in  a  great  hurry  to  play  the  pacifi- 
cator for  all  Europe ;  and  why  should  they  be  prevented  from  cutting 
their  throats  when  they  desire  to  do  so,  as  John  Roastbeef  says  in  "  The 
Scotchman."  But  this  convention  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  the 
choice  of  a  king  of  the  Romans,  and  of  a  ninth  elector,  the  juggling  of 
the  Elector  Palatine,  and  other  subjects  of  discussion  will  give  your 
pacificators  plenty  to  do ;  and  before  all  this  is  settled  I  hope  to  receive 
an  invitation  from  the  Duke  De  Laval  to  take  coffee  with  him  in  the 

trenches  before Fribourg,  if  you  please.     But  do  not  mention  this 

to  the  queen.  Have  you  been  at  the  review  at  Breslau?  The  old 
Frederick  had  a  brilliant  cortege.  I  await  your  reply  with  impatience. 
Your  first  letter  will  encourage  me  to  keep  up  a  correspondence,  which 
I  shall  esteem  a  great  honor. 

XLII. 

EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  LAFAYETTE  TO  GENERAL  KNOX. 

Paris,  February  11,  1786. 
I  have  been  very  much  pleased  with  my  journey.  I  went  to  Cas- 
sel,  Brunswick,  Berlin,  Prince  Henry's  country-seat,  Potsdam,  Silesia, 
Moravia,  Vienna,  Bohemia,  Saxony,  Potsdam  again  and  Prince  Henry's, 
Berlin,  Magdeburg.  I  saw  kings,  emperors,  generals,  troops  of  every 
kind,  and  fields  of  battle.     The  Prussian  troops  are  indeed  most  admi- 


APPENDIX.  697 

rable ;  their  infantry  is  handsome,  well  exercised,  and  maneuvers  in  a 
line  better  than  I  had  any  idea  of.  I  have  seen  twenty  thousand  men  in 
one  line  at  Breslau.  There  were  also  seventy-five  squadrons  of  a  hun- 
dred men  each,  of  the  best  cavalry  in  the  world  ;  their  horses  are  very 
indifferent,  but  habit  and  discipline  give  them  a  boldness  and  a  rapidity 
which  is  surprising.  Iu  Silesia,  at  Potsdam  and  Magdeburg  I  have 
seen  sham  battles  where  I  admired  the  instruction  and  the  military 
routine  by  which  in  that  army  a  fool  can  manage  his  corps  in  the  line  as 
well  almost  as  if  he  was  sensible ;  but  the  mode  of  recruiting  is  de- 
spotic. There  is  hardly  any  provision  for  old  soldiers,  and  although  I 
found  much  to  admire,  I  had  rather  be  the  last  farmer  in  America  than 
the  first  general  in  Berlin.  The  imperial  army  is  more  substantial,  more 
numerous,  than  that  of  Prussia  ;  but  not  so  well  exercised  by  far,  and 
is  adopting  the  same  principles  for  her  recruits.  Baron  De  Steuben  was 
often  mentioned  to  me,  and  while  I  had  the  opportunity  to  do  justice  to 
his  services  among  us,  I  was  happy  to  know  he  is  esteemed  in  his  own 
country  as  he  deserves.  His  family  made  inquiries  about  him  to  me, 
and  I  felt  a  sincere  pleasure  in  letting  them  know  that  he  was  well,  and 
much  respected  in  America. 

XLIII. 

*   EXTRACT   FROM    A    LETTER   OF    PRINCE    HENRY    OF    PRUSSIA   TO    STEUBEN. 

Berlin,  March  3, 1786. 
I  recollect  with  great  pleasure  the  time  when  you  were  with  us, 
and  was  extremely  happy  to  hear  from  you.  I  take  great  share  in  the 
military  successes  you  have  had  among  the  Americans,  and  shall  always 
be  much  pleased  to  hear  that  nothing  disturbs  the  happy  repose  you  are 
now  enjoying  and  which  you  have  so  justly  merited. 

I  seize  with  eagerness  this  opportunity  to  renew  to  you  my  assur- 
ances of  the  lively  interest  I  take  in  whatever  concerns  you,  and  of  the 
distinguished  sentiments  with  which  I  ever  shall  be 

Your  most  affectionate  friend,  Henry. 

XLIV. 

*  STEUBEN  TO  BARON  VON  DER  GOLTZ. 

1785. 

My  Dear  Baron, — 

Encouraged  by  the  assurance  I  have  received  that  you  still  re- 
member an  old  friend  who  has  always  felt  sincerely  attached  to  you, 
I  take  advantage  of  Mr.  Littelpage's  (captain  in  the  Spanish  service) 
departure  for  Europe  to  repeat  to  you  the  sentiments  of  esteem  and 
friendship  which  I  feel  towards  you.  I  should  long  since  have  recalled 
myself  to  your  recollection,  but  I  always  hoped  to  see  you  at  Paris,  and 
thus  refrained  from  writing. 

30 


698  APPENDIX. 

I  am  vain  enough  to  believe  that  you  have  sometimes  heard  me 
spoken  of)  both  favorably  and  the  reverse,  as  is  usually  the  case.  I  beg 
you  to  judge  between  the  two  extremes,  and  the  caricature  will  not  be  so 
very  extravagant  or  unlike.  I  am  well  aware  that  in  the  queen's  apart- 
ments the  American  Re volution  has  but  one  young  hero,  but  you  know 
that  women  must  always  have  a  little  Jesus  to  work  miracles.  Believe 
me,  dear  baron,  that  the  task  which  I  had  to  perform  was  not  an  easy 
one.  My  good  republicans  wanted  every  thing  in  the  English  style, 
our  great  and  good  allies  every  thing  according  to  the  French  mode  ; 
and  when  I  presented  a  plate  of  saurhraut  dressed  in  the  Prussian 
style,  they  all  wanted  to  throw  it  out  of  the  window.  Nevertheless, 
by  the  force  of  proving  by  "  God  damns"  that  my  cookery  was  the 
best,  I  overcame  the  prejudices  of  the  former ;  but  the  second  liked  me 
as  little  in  the  forests  of  America  as  they  did  on  the  plains  of  Rossbach. 
Do  not,  therefore,  be  astonished  if  I  am  not  painted  in  very  bright 
colors  in  Parisian  circles.  Our  poor  friend,  Woedtke,  found  a  grave  in 
this  country.     Bile  and  French  brandy  finished  him  at  Lake  Champlain. 

But  enough  of  this  Revolution.  It  is  now  nothing  more  than  an  old 
newspaper.  Let  us  glance  at  what  is  actually  going  on  in  your  hemi- 
sphere. It  strikes  me  that  you  gentlemen  of  the  diplomatic  corps  are 
•  sparing  some  work  for  the  soldiers.  Would  that  I  were  twenty  years 
-^.mnger  1  But  no  matter.  In  my  solitude  the  newspapers  are  a  great 
source  of  amusement,  and  they  are  so  insipid  without  a  few  battles. 
Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  give  me  some  information  of  our  old 
comrades,  Schwerin,  Gotz,  MullendorfF,  the  Tartar  Goltz,  Geusau  and 
Natzmer — are  they  still  living?  What  rank  do  they  hold,  in  what 
regiments  and  in  what  garrisons  are  they  stationed,  so  that  I  may  know 
where  to  address  them  ? 

If  you  have  any  commissions  to  execute  in  this  country,  I  flatter 
myself  that  you  will  intrust  them  to  me.  I  shall  prize  any  occasion  to 
show  you  my  sincere  attachment. 

I  bespeak  your  kindness  for  the  young  officer  who  will  hand  you 
this  letter.  Although  he  has  not  served  under  me,  he  has  shown  such 
excellent  testimony  to  his  good  conduct  at  the  taking  of  Minorca  and 
at  the  siege  of  Gibraltar,  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  him  to 
your  attention.* 

XLY. 

*     STEUBEN      TO     BARON     DE     GAUDY. 

New  York,  17S7-'8S. 
Sir, — The  same  paper  that  contained  the  announcement  of  Fred- 
erick William's  accession  to  the  throne,  also  informed  me  that  you  were 

*  Baron  von  der  Groltz  was  at  the  time  Prussian  Ambassador  at  Paris. 


APPENDIX.  699 

in  your  proper  place.  Sincere  regret  for  my  old  master,  the  best  wishes 
for  his  present  majesty,  and  satisfaction  at  seeing  your  merits  rewarded, 
were  the  sentiments  that  I  experienced  on  receiving  the  news. 

Permit  me,  sir,  on  this  occasion  to  renew  an  acquaintance  of  which 
I  am  sorry  to  say  a  long  lapse  of  time  and  distance  have  deprived  me. 
You  may  have  heard,  perhaps,  that  I  have  thought  proper  to  put  in 
practice  in  another  hemisphere  the  military  knowledge  which  I  acquired 
while  I  had  the  honor  of  serving  with  you  under  the  same  colors. 
My  success  has  outstripped  my  most  sanguine  expectations.  The  dif- 
ficulties which  I  had  to  encounter  were  innumerable.  A  foreigner, 
ignorant  of  the  language  of  the  country,  without  resources  or  help — 
without  authority,  I  may  say — I  succeeded  in  forming  an  army  ca- 
pable of  resisting  Great  Britain,  and  the  result  of  this  Revolution  has 
crowned  my  enterprise.  How  happy  I  should  be  could  I  give  you  as 
satisfactory  an  account  of  our  political  affairs  as  I  can  of  our  military 
successes.  But  I  can  not.  As  this  matter  is  not  at  all  within  my  ca- 
pacity, I  shall  content  myself  with  the  remark,  that  it  is  with  real  re- 
gret I  see  so  soon  tottering  the  edifice  which  I  helped  to  build  at  so 
much  labor  and  suffering.  But  I  am  forgetting  that  I  am  writing  to 
a  royalist,  who  will  rejoice  at  the  bad  fortune  of  rebels. 

Notwithstanding  that  I  have  laid  aside  the  sword  for  the  second 
and  probably  for  the  last  time,  I  still  amuse  myself  with  the  profession 
which  for  so  many  years  was  the  object  of  my  study.  It  is  on  this  ac- 
count that  I  beg  you  to  give  me  a  copy  of  the  works  which  you  have 
published  on  military  matters,  and  thus  increase  my  military  library. 
Long  since  I  have  had  your  "  Elements  of  Tactics"  translated  into  En- 
glish for  the  instruction  of  the  officers;  butM.  de  Holtzendorff's  French 
translation  does  not  do  justice  to  the  author,  and  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  paid  the  least  attention  to  the  engraved  plans.  Will  you  have  the 
goodness  to  send  me  a  German  copy,  and  I  shall  translate  it  more  ac- 
curately for  my  American  pupils. 

You  must  not,  however,  believe  that  I  have  introduced  the  entire 
system  of  drill,  evolutions,  maneuvers,  discipline,  tactics  and  Prussian 
formation  into  our  army.  I  should  have  been  pelted  had  I  attempted 
it,  and  should  inevitably  have  failed. 

My  ordinance,  which  was  translated  in  Paris,  is  a  rhapsody  that  I 
hope  has  never  reached  you  ;  but  if  you  have  seen  it  by  chance,  I  beg 
you  not  to  condemn  it  without  considering  my  situation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  genius  of  this  nation  is  not  in  the  least  to 
be  compared  with  that  of  the  Prussians,  Austrians,  or  French.  You 
say  to  your  soldier,  "  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it;"  but  I  am  obliged  to 
say,  "This  is  the  reason  Avhy  you  ought  to  do  that,"  and  then  he 
does  it. 

Your  army  is  the  growth  of  a  century,  mine  of  a  day.     My  officers 


700  APPENDIX. 

were  as  raw  as  my  soldiers.  This  army  was  renewed  almost  after  every 
campaign,  and  I  considered  myself  too  fortunate  if  I  had  my  recruits 
four  weeks  before  the  commencement  of  active  operations. 

Judge,  then,  whether  I  could  amuse  myself  much  with  the  manage- 
ment of  arms  and  parades.  Contrary  to  my  principles,  I  was  forced  to 
begin  my  task  at  the  wrong  end,  and  after  executing  great  maneuvers 
with  six  or  eight  thousand  men  together,  I  have  sent  my  generals  and 
colonels  to  learn  the  manual  exercise. 

After  what  I  have  related  above,  you  will  admit  that  my  task  was 
not  an  easy  one,  and  you  will  judge  my  ordinances  indulgently.  I 
should  also  tell  you  that  besides  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery  and  light 
troops,  every  thing  belonged  to  my  department,  and  my  aids  and  as- 
sistants were  all  of  my  own  creation. 

In  all  the  deviations  from  the  Prussian  ordinance  that  I  was  com- 
pelled to  make,  there  is  one  that  I  never  regretted.  It  is  the  formation 
of  my  battalions,  which  were  numerically  only  half  the  strength  of  a 
Prussian  battalion.  The  battalion  was  commanded  by  a  lieutenant  col- 
onel or  major.  It  was  divided  into  two  divisions ;  each  division  into 
two  companies  ;  the  company  into  two  platoons ;  the  platoons  into  two 
sections ;  the  section  into  two  demi-sections ;  the  demi-section  into  two 
squads ;  and  the  squad  into  two  files.  Two  battalions  formed  a  regi- 
ment, commanded  by  a  colonel ;  two  regiments  a  brigade,  commanded 
by  a  brigadier  general ;  two  brigades  a  division,  commanded  by  a  ma- 
jor general.  A  battalion  of  light  infantry,  or  rifles,  two  squadrons  of 
dragoons,  and  two  companies  of  artillery  attached  to  this  division, 
formed  a  legion.  This  simple  formation  was  of  infinite  service  to  me, 
as  well  for  my  maneuvers  as  for  the  subdivision  of  detachments.  You 
see  that  I  did  not  adopt  the  five  companies  in  a  battalion,  and  that  mine 
was  always  ready,  each  officer  remaining  with  his  company. 

XLVI. 

STEUBEN     TO     J.      W.      MULLIGAN. 

Philadelphia,  January  11,  1793. 

Your  letter  of  the  7th  was  handed  me  yesterday  by  Mr.  Hamilton. 
In  vain,  my  dear  child,  should  I  undertake  to  express  to  you  the  sensa- 
tions which  this  letter  created  in  my  heart.  Neither  have  I  the  courage 
to  attempt  to  arrest  the  tears  you  have  so  great  reason  to  shed.  For  a 
heart  as  feeling  as  yours  this  was  the  severest  of  trials,  and  nothing  but 
time  can  bring  consolation  under  circumstances  so  afflicting. 

Strength  of  mind  is  enfeebled  by  griefs  of  this  nature ;  but,  my 
friend,  one  ought  not  to  suffer  it  to  be  entirely  extinguished,  for  it  is  the 
duty  of  a  sensible  man  to  cherish  the  heavenly  fire  with  which  we  are 
endowed  by  Providence. 


APPENDIX.  701 

Despite  moral  philosophy,  I  weep  with  you,  and  glory  in  the  hu- 
man weakness  of  mingling  my  tears  with  those  of  a  friend  I  so  ten- 
derly love. 

My  dear  Charles  ought,  ere  this,  to  have  received  my  answer  to  the 
touching  letter  he  wrote  me. 

I  repeat  my  entreaties,  to  hasten  your  journey  to  Philadelphia  as 
soon  as  your  strength  permits.  My  heart  and  my  arms  are  open  to  re- 
ceive you.  In  the  midst  of  the  attention  and  fetes  which  they  have 
the  goodness  to  give  ine,  I  enjoy  not  a  moment's  tranquillity  until  I  hold 
you  in  my  arms.  Grant  me  this  favor  without  delay,  but  divide  your 
journey,  that  you  may  not  be  fatigued  at  the  expense  of  your  health. 

0,  if  our  friend  could  accompany  you  !  Embrace  him  for  me,  with 
the  same  tender  friendship  I  feel  for  you. 

XL  VII. 

JOHN     W.      MULLIGAN     TO      BENJAMIN     WALKER. 

Steuben,  November  29,  1794. 
I  am  at  length  sufficiently  composed  to  begin,  0  my  dear  sir,  a  sad 
tale.  On  Tuesday  morning  last,  our  friend,  my  father,  was  struck  with 
a  palsy  which  deprived  his  left  side  of  motion.  The  evening  before  we 
parted  at  eleven ;  he  was  well,  perfectly  welL  At  four  o'clock  I  was 
alarmed  with  the  cry  that  he  was  dying,  and  when  I  entered  his  cham- 
ber he  was  in  extreme  agony  and  appeared  to  have  suffered  long.  I 
sent  for  immediate  assistance,  and  dispatched  White  for  Major  North. 
He  was  sensible  and  could  speak,  reached  violently,  asked  for  an  emetic 
which  I  gave  him — it  operated  well.  I  then  put  him  to  bed,  from  which 
I  had  taken  him  by  his  desire.  He  continued  to  speak  at  intervals  till 
about  six,  and  from  thence  was  speechless.  He  remained  apparently 
sensible  during  the  greater  part  of  Tuesday,  notwithstanding  he  was 
often  in  convulsions.  That  night  he  was  pretty  quiet,  though  the  fits 
sometimes  returned.  He  did  not  show  any  signs  of  sense  afterwards. 
Every  measure  which  the  situation  afforded  was  pursued  to  relieve  him 
until  the  arrival  of  the  doctor  on  Thursday.  He  administered  medi 
cines  which  gave  some  relief,  but  it  was  not  long.  The  stroke  was  too 
violent,  and  yesterday,  at  half  past  twelve  o'clock,  oh,  my  good  God, 
my  parent  died  !  0,  Colonel  Walker,  our  friend,  my  all ;  I  can  write 
no  more.  Come  if  you  can,  I  am  lonely.  Oh,  good  God,  what  soli- 
tude is  in  my  bosom.  Oh,  if  you  were  here  to  mingle  your  tears  with 
mine,  there  would  be  some  consolation  for  the  distressed 

John  W.  Mulligan. 


702  APPENDIX. 

XLVIII. 
steuben's    last    will    and    testament. 
I,  Frederick  William  Baron  De  Steuben,  of  the  City  and  State  of 
New  York,  do  make  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 

Sufficient  reasons  having  determined  me  to  exclude  my  relatives  in 
Europe  from  any  participation  in  my  estate  in  Ameiica,  and  to  adopt 
my  friends  and  former  aides-de-camp,  Benjamin  Walker  and  William 
North,  as  my  children,  and  make  them  sole  devisees  of  all  my  estate 
therein,  except  as  hereinafterwards  is  otherwise  disposed  of.  In  conse- 
quence thereof  I  bequeath  to  the  said  Benjamin  Walker  the  sum  of 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  the  gold-hilted  sword  given  to  me  by  Con- 
gress ;  to  the  said  William  North  I  bequeath  my  silver-hilted  sword, 
and  the  gold  box  given  me  by  the  city  of  New  York ;  to  John  W. 
Mulligan  I  bequeath  the  whole  of  my  library,  maps  and  charts,  and  the 
sum  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  to  complete  it,  and  to  each 
of  my  servants  living  with  me  at  the  time  of  my  decease  one  year's 
wages,  and  besides  this,  to  my  valet-de-chambre,  all  my  wearing  appar- 
el. I  do  hereby  declare  that  those  legacies  to  my  servants  are  on  the 
following  conditions:  that  on  my  decease  they  do  not  permit  any  person 
to  touch  my  body,  nor  even  to  change  the  shirt,  in  which  I  shall  die, 
but  that  they  wrap  me  up  in  my  old  military  cloak  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  after  my  decease  bury  me  in  such  a  spot  as  I  shall  before  my 
decease  point  out  to  them,  and  that  they  never  acquaint  any  person 
with  the  place  wherein  I  shall  be  buried.  And  lastly  I  do  give,  devise 
and  bequeath  all  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate,  real  and  personal, 
after  the  payment  of  my  debts  and  the  legacies  aforesaid,  to  the  said  Ben- 
jamin Walker  and  William  North,  their  heirs,  executors  and  adminis- 
trators, share  and  share  alike,  hereby  appointing  the  said  Benjamin 
Walker  and  William  North  executors  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament, 
and  revoking  all  former  wills  by  me  heretofore  made. 
New  York,  February  12,  1794. 

Steuben,     (l.  s.) 
Signed,  sealed,  published  and  declared 

as  the  last  will  and  testament,  etc.,  in  the 

presence  of  Charles  Williamson,  Charles 

Adams  and  W.  H.  Robinson. 

XLIX. 

EULOGY     OF     THE      GERMAN     SOCIETY. 

From  New  York  Journal  and  Patriotic  Register,  No.  2939,  of  Jan.  7,  1795. 
When,  in  the  dispensation  of  His  Providence,  it  pleases  the  Al- 
mighty Ruler  of  the  Universe  to  remove  from  this  world  persons  who 


APPENDIX.  703 

have  been  eminently  useful  to  mankind,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  so- 
ciety to  which  they  have  belonged  to  bear  to  their  virtue  some  honor- 
able testimonial.  In  this  sentiment,  mankind  in  all  ages  and  in  every 
country  have  been  agreed. 

And  whereas,  we,  the  German  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
have  lately  received  official  intelligence  of  the  death  of  our  late  respect- 
ed countryman  and  president,  Frederick  William  Baron  De  Steuben  : 

We,  reflecting  upon  his  kind  and  affectionate  deportment  as  a  citi- 
zen, as  a  member,  and  as  president  of  our  charitable  institution,  and 
considering  the  important  services  he  rendered  this  our  country,  can  not 
but  view  him  as  justly  entitled  to  an  affectionate  place  in  the  memory 
of  every  citizen,  and  of  each  member  of  our  society. 

We  therefore  conceive  it  our  duty  as  members  of  this  society,  and 
as  citizens  of  the  American  republic,  to  pay,  on  this  mournful  occasion, 
a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory ;  and  though  that  heart  which  was 
once  alive  to  every  honorable  feeling  of  our  nature,  is  now  "  compressed 
into  a  clod  of  the  valley,"  unconscious  of  this  mark  of  our  respect  and 
regard,  still  this  performance  of  our  duty  may  not  be  without  its  use  to 
society,  while  to  the  members  of  our  society  it  may  be  an  inducement 
to  the  practice  of  those  gentle  and  amiable  virtues,  by  which  the  de- 
ceased gained  our  affections  and  esteem.  To  our  countrymen  in  gen- 
eral it  may  serve  as  a  further  incentive  to  the  discharge  of  those  duties 
they  owe  to  their  country ;  for  by  this  they  will  learn  that  the  fame  of 
virtuous  deeds  is  as  extensive  as  their  utility,  and  that  the  names  of 
those  who  have  rendered  distinguished  services  in  the  cause  of  freedom, 
descend  to  posterity,  not  only  adorned  with  the  wreath  of  public  ad- 
miration, but  even  in  societies,  like  ours,  abstracted  from  all  political 
concerns  and  devoted  solely  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  benevo- 
lence, their  virtues  are  held  in  tender  remembrance,  and  their  memories 
are  embalmed  by  the  sight  of  unfeigned  regret. 

Be  it,  therefore,  resolved,  by  the  officers  of  the  German  Society, 
now  convened  on  this  mournful  occasion,  that  the  members  thereof  be 
requested  to  wear  the  usual  mourning  six  weeks,  in  testimony  of  their 
respect  for  the  public  and  private  virtues  of  their  late  president,  Freder- 
ick William  Baron  De  Steuben ;  and  also,  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gross  be 
requested  to  deliver  a  funeral  oration  in  the  German  language,  in  honor 
of  our  deceased  president,  on  Sunday  next,  half  past  two  o'clock,  p.  m., 
in  the  Reformed  German  Church  in  Nassau  street. 


David  Grimm,  Y.  P. 
William  Wilmerdincx,  Sec. 


December  29,  1794. 


704  APPENDIX 


FROM     AN     INCOMPLETE     MEMORIAL. 

The  respectable  citizens  who  entered  the  lists  with  so  much  ardor, 
quitted  their  cabins  with  more  regret  to  answer  to  the  second  call. 
Those  who  were  in  more  easy  circumstances  emptied  their  purses  to 
induce  those  who  were  poorer  to  take  their  places.  The  rotation  of 
service  soon  became  a  speculation,  and  before  the  end  of  the  second 
campaign  there  were  very  few  rich  enough  to  pay  a  substitute  to  serve 
in  their  stead.  Associations  were  formed,  and,  by  the  force  of  money, 
children,  invalids  and  vagrants  were  engaged  to  complete  the  number 
of  the  contingents.  These  men  were  engaged  for  such  short  terms  that 
one  recruit  soon  took  the  place  of  another,  and  the  country  became 
quickly  destitute  of  money.  They  then  began  to  pay  in  produce. 
Negroes,  cattle,  produce,  even  lands  were  given  to  recruits  who  were 
utterly  useless  to  the  army. 

Congress  and  the  commander-in-chief  remonstrated.  The  evil  had 
become  incurable.  The  soldiers  whose  term  had  expired  could  not  be 
kept  on  at  any  price ;  several  withdrew  in  the  middle,  others  at  the  end 
of  the  campaign.  The  enemy  was  always  in  full  force,  while  the 
American  army  was  almost  insufficient  to  furnish  the  guards  for  our 
advanced  posts.  The  new  recruit  generally  arrived  when  the  operations 
of  the  war  were  far  advanced.  He  arrived  in  a  wretched  condition, 
destitute  of  every  article  of  clothing,  and  utterly  ignorant  of  a  soldier's 
duty.  Often  a  third  of  these  new  levies  was  totally  unfit  for  service ; 
another  third  soon  went  into  hospital,  and  the  remaining  third  was 
slightly  trained  during  the  time  that  the  enemy  employed  in  making 
his  dispositions. 

In  the  third  campaign  the  government  was  compelled  to  reduce  to 
a  considerable  extent  the  number  of  regiments,  from  inability  to  recruit 
them.  If  the  fate  of  America  could  have  been  decided  in  one  day  by 
a  general  engagement,  it  is  possible  that  the  enthusiasm  of  our  valorous 
citizens  might  have  achieved  a  victory  over  an  army  as  brave  as  it  was 
well  disciplined.  But  a  war  is  seldom  finished  by  one  or  two  battles. 
It  is  necessary  to  keep  the  field,  and  the  hope  of  regaining  advantages 
on  another  occasion,  tends  to  prolong  the  operations  of  the  war. 

The  citizen  who  had  braved  death  at  Bunker  Hill,  could  not  resist 
the  desire  to  see  his  family,  and  take  charge  of  his  household.  The 
hero  in  the  battle  of  to-day  became  a  deserter  to-morrow,  perfectly  con- 
fident tdat  he  was  not  guilty  of  any  impropriety.  "  I  have  had  my 
turn,"  he  used  to  say;  "I  have  fought  bravely,  let  my  neighbor  do  like- 
wise. If  five  hundred  thousand  of  my  fellow  citizens  fire  as  many 
shots  at  the  enemy  as  I  have  fired  in  the  last  battle,  the  enemy  would 


APPENDIX 


101 


be  soon  annihilated,  and  my  country  would  be  free."  The  neighbor, 
animated  by  the  same  sentiments,  puts  on  his  arms,  joins  the  army, 
fills  the  vacancy,  and  asks  nothing  better  than  to  fight  and  distinguish 
himself.  But  a  battle  is  not  fought  every  day.  He  waits  a  week,  two, 
three,  perhaps  a  month.  He  begins  to  long  to  see  his  family,  his  cabin, 
his  land  which  requires  his  presence  to  sow  the  crop  or  make  his 
harvest.  He  fears  to  lose  the  produce  of  an  entire  year.  His  anxiety 
affects  his  health.  There  is  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  go  into  hospital 
or  go  home.  He  returns  to  require  some  other  neighbor  to  take  his 
turn,  and  so  on  indefinitely.  This  rotation  soon  exhausts  the  village, 
but  the  war  is  not  ended,  and  the  enemy  is  getting  ready  for  another 
campaign. 

LI. 

RICHARD     PETERS     TO     STEUBEN. 

Bklmont,  October  30, 1788. 

Having  been  in  the  War  Office  from  its  establishment  to  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Board  of  War  (which  happened  after  the  great  events  of 
the  war  were  passed  through,  and  a  short  time  before  the  peace),  I  can 
speak  from  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  effects  your  talents  and  in- 
dustrious exertions  produced. 

And  you  will  permit  me  to  say  that  they  operated  like  a  charm 
upon  every  branch  of  the  civil  business  of  the  department.  Many  obsta- 
cles were  encountered  by  you,  in  the  commencement  of  your  operations, 
which  I  believe  very  few  men  would  have  overcome.  But  when  your 
plans  were  understood  and  relished  by  the  army,  an  economy  was 
introduced  which  not  only  made  the  situation  of  those  concerned  in 
superintending  the  supplies  easier  and  happier,  but  was  the  cause  of 
such  immense  savings  to  the  United  States,  as  will  bear  no  comparison 
with  any  compensation  you  can  now  expect. 

It  was  scarcely  possible  for  us,  before  your  successful  exertions  in- 
troduced discipline  and  the  police  of  the  camp  into  our  army,  to  keep 
pace  with  the  waste  and  loss  daily  experienced. 

But  how  happy  was  the  change,  the  inspection  returns  and  other 
documents  will  abundantly  evince !  I  say  not  these  things  from  any 
motive  but  that  of  justice  to  you,  and  from  a  desire  to  render  to  you  a 
small  but  grateful  tribute  for  the  eminent  and  useful  services  my  country 
has  received  at  your  hands.  This  I  consider  myself  as  bound  to  do, 
both  as  a  citizen  and  one  who  profited  not  a  little  by  your  information, 
and  the  observations  made  on  your  conduct  while  I  had  the  honor  to 
fill  a  public  station  with  which  you  were  connected,  and  in  which  I  had 
almost  as  much  to  learn  as  to  practice. 

30* 


706 


APPENDIX 


FORMATION  OF  THE  ARMY  COMMANDED  BY  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL 

WASHINGTON,  FOR  THE  PRESENT  CAMPAIGN  (1779). 

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/«, 

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2J0 

1 

230 

< 

CO 

[34 

2i0 

41 

1 

229 

—  82 

—4 

8 

1866 

1 

164 

M 

r2d 

280 

41 

1 

299 

<< 

6th 

230 

1 

230 

pq    I 

{4th 

320 

41 

1 

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.  8  5 

Delaware 

220 

1 

220 

J 

**   f  -" 

—  82 

—4 

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{7th 

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1 

339 

> 

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1 

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340 

41 

1 

229 

>5 

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82 

—3 
1 

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5 

1574 

1  12 

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■  W 

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1 

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55 

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6 

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2 

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1 

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to     n 

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224 

24 

1 

200 

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263 

30 

1 

233 

H 

(4th 

313 

38 

1 

275 

b 

S3    ■ 

(1st 

277 

—  92 

32 

—3 

1 

245 

6 

1373 

1 

164 

3     3 

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212 

12 

1 

M 

-< 

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248 

28 

1 

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—  72 

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1 

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—  91 

2 

N.  CARO. 

(1st 

328 

37 

1 

291 

Brigade.    N 

298 

33 

-70 

1 
—2 

263     j 

35 

9755 

8          1    1312    j 

N.B.— Each  Batt.  of  Lt.  Infty.  consists  of  1  Field  Offi.,  4  Capts.,  8  Subs.,  12  Sergts.,  &  164  R.  <fc  F. 

Return  of  the  Numijer  of  Men  Enlisted  during  the  War,  and  for  shorter  Periods 
in  the  Army  under  the  immediate  Command  of  His  Excellency  General 
Washington,  December,  1779. 


! 

Brigades. 

Ten 

ns  expire  by  the  1st  of  July, 

During 

the 
War. 

Total. 

1780. 

1181. 

1782. 

1783. 

344 

307 
7 

10 
191 
279 
717 
76i 

10 
476 

118 

122 
1 
5 
13 
19 
81 
35 

327 

49 

15 
3 

14 
8 
4 
3 

1 

5 

7 

1 

900 
1046 
1242 
1035 
1079 
960 
878 
566 
1023 
406 

1416 
1497 
1253 

1050 
1297 
1267 
1680 
1367 
1033 
1210 

2d         Do 

2d            Do 

New  York 

2d         Do.         .  .  . 

Hand's 

Stark's    

Total  

3KU 

721 

97 

13 

9135 

13070 

APPENDIX. 


707 


GENERAL    RETURN    OP    THE    NUMBER    OF    MEN     WHOSE 

Times  of  Enlistment  expire  before  the  first 
day  of  July,  1780. 


Brigades. 


Regiments. 


1st  Maryland. 


.../ 


1st 
5th 
7th 
3d 


'id 


Do. 


1st  Pennsylvania 


2d 


New  Jersey. 


New  York. 


Do. 


2d 

6th 
4th 
Delaware 

1st 

th 

10th 

2d 

3d 
6th 
9th 
5th 

1st 
3d 
4th 
2d 

2d 
4th 
5th 

!3d 


r|Webb's 
„.    ,  ,  I  Jackson's 

8tark  8 < ,  2d  Rhode  Is. 

1  jSherborn's 


Hand" 


(  4th  Penns. 
11th  Do. 
Hazen's 
Livingston 


I 


1st  Connecticut.  J 

-{ 


2d 


Do. 


Total. 


3d 

4th 
6th 
Btta 

1st 

2d 

5th 

th 


35     45 
37;    43| 

3S     48 
30     35 

I 


171 


! 


5  3      . 
13'lOi  115 

1 


ss 


15 


142 


436 


IT   S 

10  3 

6i  6 


12 


11 

T 

6j  2 
1311 


197  95 


13|     15  j 

4J      5) 

120  145 
78|  91 
T5;    8T 

100J  119 

115;  12S 

75!  89 
74 

146  170 


to 

i>     25 


General  Return  of  the  Num- 
ber of  Men  who  have  been 
Sick  Absent,  and  have  not 

BEEN        HEARD         OF       IN      SlX 

Months. 


Regiments. 


~ 

£ 

M 

■f; 

P 

g 

a 

et 

1st 
5th 
7th 
3d 

2d 
6th 
4th 
Delaware 

1st 
7th 
10th 
2d 

3d 
6th 
9th 

5th 

1st 
3d 
4th 
2d 


!4th 
5th 

|3d 

;  Webb's 
Jackson's 
2d  Rhode  Is.i 

Shcrborn's    j 


i4th  Penns. 
11th  Do. 
illazcn's 

I  Livingston 


442 


!;3d 
!4th 
j6th 
Sth 

1st 
|2d 

5th 
JTth 


1575   inalUS67 


1 


9  ' 

I 

I 


(» 


10 


20     5 


i 


!    81      8 

j    3|      8 

1     9     13 


22 


!•• 


It 


16 


3  2  99   in  all  104 


N.  B.— The  2d  Connecticut  Brigade  omitted  making  any  Return  of 
in  Six  Months. 


Men  not  heard  of 


708 


APPENDIX. 


2.33£33B£;?0!3£3 


*8 


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olonels. 
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Captains. 


Ensigi 


Pay-masters. 
Adjutants  and 
Qr.-masters. 


Sergt. -majors  & 
Qr.-mast.strgts. 


Sergeants. 
Corporals, 


Drum  and  Fife 
Majors. 


Drums  &  Fifes. 


Rank  and  File. 


1st  September. 


1st. Inly  1st  Aug.  gthJnly      1st.  Sept. 


8     S? 


3         3 


« 

ft. 

_ 

E 

M 

to 

to 

1      8 


War. 


2  years  and 
Upwards, 

1  year  and 

upwards. 


6  months  and 
pwards. 


3  months  and 
upwards. 

2  months  and 
upwards. 

1  month  and 

upwards 


0 

s.- 

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n 

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Disputed. 
Unknown. 


Effectives. 


APPENDIX. 


109 


\ 

1 

- 

1 

Present,  fit  for  and  on  Field  Duty,    .... 

Sick,  Present  and  in  Hospital,     

On  Furlough  and  in  Captivity,     

On  Staff,  and  Menial  Duty, 

B 

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cio 

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denomination. 

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1       fe       3       5        g 

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710 


A  PP  EX  I)  I  X 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OP    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY 
Foe  the  Month  of  Apeu.,  1782. 


f 

| 

If 

jj 

STATES   AND  CORPS. 

X 

u 

0 

• 

1    E 

a  « 

3 

1 

.z. 

t       . 

c 

n 

0 

3 

9 

3 

1 1  1 1 

s   1 

5  (2 

SI 

8 
J. 

t 
V 

KitV-nmj 
Sergeam 

a. 
0 
0 

S      3 

New  Hampshire 

2 

1 

1 

r  i 

1 

1 

9    6 

2  1 

P  1 

1 

1 

1  1 

'  21 

10 

17    285 

9 

1 

1 

8    8 

6   1 

1   1 

1 

tt 

24  13    271 

:> 

1 

1 

6    6 

4 

1 

1 

1 

1    24 

23  15    265 

4 

1 

1 

1 

6    6 

8    1; 

1   1 

1 

1 

1 

1   1 

1    2f 

22;  18    272 

Massachusetts - 

5 
6 

i 

1 

1 

1 

8    7 
7    6 

7  l; 

7    I 

l!  1 
1    1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1    30 
1    26 

21;  16    263 
23  17    268 

7 

1 

2 

7    7 

2    1 

1    * 

1 

1 

1 

27|  Willi  282 

8 

1 

1 

7    7 

6    1 

1    * 

1 

1 

i{  1 

1    28 1  21  16    276 

0 

1 

1    1 

7    7 

4    1 

1   1 

1 

1 

l:  1 

1    23!  22  17    275 

u 

1 

6    5 

5    1 

1    1 

1 

1 

34!  80(18    258 

r  i 

2 

4  10 

7    6 

8 

4    1 

1   1 
1    1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1   i 

1    26,  24  14    276 

1    26;  24  171  223 

1 

8 

1 

9    7 

8    1 

1 

1 

1 

1    27    25  15!  241 

Connecticut \ 

a  l 

1 

7    6 

2    1 

1    1 

1 

1 

lj  1 

1    311  21  17    288 

4!  1 

1 

5    7 

8    1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1  1 

1    36    24  19    236 

5 

l 

1 

5    6 

3    1 

1    1 

1 

1 

1 

1    1 

1    30    24  14    233 

New  York - 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 
1 

9)  9 
7   7 

9    1 
5    1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

l!   1    1    34    31  17    861 

11  1    l!  89    28  20|  896 

New  Jersey - 

1 

1 

1 

9  11 

+    1! 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1    1         25    28;i7;  298 

2 

1 

1 

S    5 

6    1 

1    1 

1 

1 

1 

l!  1    1    29 

24!12'  283 

Canadian  Old  Regt. . . 

.    1 

1 

7    9 

1    1 

1 

1 

1    18 

6  17|  265 

.    1 

6    2 

2 

1   1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

6 

4 

4 

1      45 
4     50 

Commdr.-in-chief  s  Gd 

Sappers  and  Miners. . . 

4 

— 

5 

» 

66 

Total j 

1 

1 

1 

y 

i 

8 

j 

4 

.! 

m 

I 

i 

; 

ARTILLERY. 

? 

3 

c 

I 

4 

1 

O 
"e? 

I 

: 

■s 

| 

i 

.     c 

■     c 

c    3 

O        5 

o    £ 

5" 

V 

3 

- 

< 
0 

3 

■5    H 
r    5 

-   .= 

ill 

a  j    >. 

o»  [(2 

1  Cfl 

r 
I 

5 

a 

B 
§ 
g 

f    1 

I 

] 
O 

< 

J 
| 

0     c 
14    1 

j        I 

5     1 

7    272 

Massachusetts,. . . 

1     1 

1 

7 

8 

6 

7    1 

t 

1 

I    1 

1 
1     1 

1 

K 

2S 

17 

New  York, 

1     ] 

1 

7 

5 

9 

8    i 

1 

1 

1 

1    1 

1 

21 

24 

8 

20  : 

9    167 

X 

1 

1 

{ 

4 

4 

3      77 

Total 

~~ 

j 

fi 

i 

c 

< ; 

i 

s 

Cavalry. 

o 

e 
i 

8 

*  5 

0  v 

1 

c 

B 

c 
a 

H 

a 
c      » 

t: 

3 

9 

'3 

i 

s    is    : 

3     S.  i. 

s 

| 
1 

r 

1 

»     | 

E  1 

T    t: 

£    1 
0      a 
0    .£ 

£ 

2    5 

c 

2  s  a 

<    : 

if  £   j 

**  ! 

cc    5- 

5  £ 

c^  iU 

H 

a   O 

fa    CO 

^    a; 
242 

Connecticut. . . 

l 

1 

5 

« 

2 

8 

1 

1 

1    1 

r 

11 

191  4,     1     1  41 

Van  Heer 

1 

i 

4 

"T 

1 

1 

3    2 

28 

Total.... 

1  1 

A  P  P  E  N  O  I  X  . 


71i 


ABSTEACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  May,  1782. 


8TATES   AND  CORPS. 


New  Hampshire.... 


Massachusetts. . 


Rhode  Island. 
Connecticut. , 


New  York 

New  Jersey -j      2 

Invalids j  1 

Sappers  and  Miners. ..  j 
Commdr.-in-chief  s  Gd. 
Artificers 


Total. 


1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

281  26;  IS    247 


22 
26 

2  s 

29 

2S 

2G 

25 

2S 

25 

84 

28 

1!  29 

1    81 

80 

1!  39 

1    80 

34 

1    36 

28 


23  16;  239 
18  15!  2S7 
25  13!  297 
27^17!  309 
26171  285 
2116  276 

24  18;  324 
23 | 13!  306 
21 17'  284 
24 
32 

13 
9 


IS    314 
14 i  297 


18:  310 
14  313 
19    259 

17  2SS 
18 j  3S0 
201  417 

18  295 
12    276 

263 
60 
50 


ARTILLERY. 

s 

t 

c 

6 

1 
a 

i 

1 

3 

a 

a 
3 

7. 

< 

2  . 

I    1 

3  S* 

Of    Ph 

3 
M 

5 
s. 

1 

"3? 

s 

J! 

5 

J? 

a 
Q 

^3 

s 

1 

| 

i 
8 

1 

B 
O 

Q 

1 

Massachusetts,. . . 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total 

1 
1 

1 

1 

6 

7 
1 

6 

6 
1 

5 
9 

2 

9 
12 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

35 
21 
15 

25 
20 

15 
8 

16 
21 

u 

19 

235 
170 
57 

i 
3   s 

S  6 


Connecticut. . 
Van  Heer 


Total . 


712 


APPENDIX 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OP    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  June,  17S2. 


STATES   AND  CORPS. 


New  Hampshire. . 


Massachusetts. . 


1    1 


Rhode  Island. 


Connecticut. . 


New  York.. 

New  Jersey. 


Canada  Regiment. 


Invalids 

Commdr-in-chf  s  Gd. 
Sappers  and  Miners. 


Total. 


8  4 

9  2 
7  4 
7  4 


1    1 


1    II  1 
1     1    1 


1 
1    1 

li 

1    1 

1  1 

1  1 

I 

1  1 

1  1 


1    1 
1    1 

II 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 


1    1 
1    1 


1    1 
1    1 


1    1 

1 


1    1 
I  1 


84 


81 


21  17 
24  15 
2816 

26,18 
22il8 
2217 

24  13 

25  18 
25  IS 


:;lo 
8o<; 
.„.  315 
19  290 
17    293 


84  18    427 
24  21    430 


18    305 
15    294 


293 

5j    52 


ARTILLERY. 


t\  a 


Massachusetts, 
New  York,  . . 

Artificers, 

Total,  . . 


131 

8 


1     1 
1     1 


18 


•_'f,it 


57 


APPENDIX. 


713 


ABSTEAOT    OF    THE    MUSTEES    OF    THE    NOETHEEN    AEMY, 
Fob  the  Month  of  July,  1782. 


a 

3 

, 

1 

s 

i 

£ 

STATES   AND  COBPH. 

i 

5 
0 

3 
s 

1 

£    £ 

i  i  a 

S 

1 

4 

5 

1 

■ 

1 
1 

£ 
c 

a 

3 

e 

0 

2? 

m 

5 

1 

a 

3 
3 

.1 

d 

5 

< 

» 

| 

s 

00 

1 

Br 

0 

I 

■ 

(5 

£ 

New  Hampshire. .  -j 

l 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

8 

9 

1 

1 

1    1    1 

1         1 

1 

i 

1 

25 

28 

19 

857 

2 

1 

i 

9      ! 

2 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

*  * 

23 

20 

16    833 

8 

1 

1 

i 

9 

5 

4 

1 

1        1 

l!  i 

28 

27 

10!  335 

4 

1 

1 

i 

8 

9 

a 

1 

1        1 

1 

i  i 

81 

25 

18 1  340 

5 

1 

1 

i 

6 

11 

5 

1 

111 

1 

i 

1 

82 

20 

18    334 

Massachusetts - 

6 

i 

7 

8 

s 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

i 

1 

27 

22 

18   350 

7 

l 

T 

8 

9 

1 

1    1 

1 

i 

26 

2:> 

14   357 

8 

1 

1 

l 

8 

9 

4 

1 

1   1    1 

1 

i 

1 

8) 

27 

171  342 

9 

1 

1 

i 

8 

8 

4 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

i 

1 

28 

28 

18    347 

j  10 

1 

l 

8 

8 

0 

1 

111 

1 

i 

38 

28 

15 

332 

Ehode  Island 

.    1 

l 

2 

7 

8 

1 

1 

1    1 

1 

i 

1 

31 

M 

17 

479 

1 

"   1 

1 

1 

7 

7 

1 

1 

1   1    1 

1 

1 

1 

80 

20 

Is 

322 

2 

1 

1 

1 

0 

8 

4 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

i 

1 

84 

26 

10 

325 

Connecticut 1 

3 

1 

1 

1 

8 

9 

9 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

1 

i 

1 

81 

21 

15 

813 

■ 

4 

1 

1 

1 

5 

7 

4 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

40 

20 

10 

296 

I 

5 

2 

8 

7 

4 

1 

111 

1 

i 

1 

80 

24 

17 

805 

New  York J 

1 

1 

1 

9 

8 

9 

1 

111 

j     J        J 

1 

i 

1 

84 

84 

IS 

414 

2 

1 

1 

1 

8 

9 

r> 

1 

1    1    1 

1 

i 

1 

84 

20 

21 

441 

New  Jersey. i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

9 

8 

6 

1 

1 

1 

2S 

20 

19 

297 

2 

1 

1 

1 

8 

9 

0 

1 

1   1 

1 

i 

1 

28 

24 

15 

275 

Canada  Eegiment. . 

.    1 

Invalids 

1 

r 

5 
2 

1 

1    1    1 

1         1 

1 

i 
i 

28 
8 

17 
4 

9 
5 

193 
47 

Commdr-in-chf's  Gd 

Sapper  and  Miners . 

4 

5 

1? 

1 

62 

Total 

1 

| 

" 

i 



i 

1 

£ 

!  i 

1    o 

"2 

ARTILLERY. 

s    2 

1  : 

i 

5 

p 

0 

§1 

3 

5 
H 

3 

7, 

i 
5 

•3 

3 
0 

1 

■7. 

1 

a 
SB  J  « 

So"" 

7    T    o 
5     =    "a 
*     d     I 

S    3    i 

Jo  E 

1  & 

"5 
o 
& 

1 

■9 

1 

3 

a 

5 

a 

(5 

o 

m 

Massachusetts,. 

l 

1 

i 

■ 

7 

9 

1 

1 

1   1    J 

39 

«i 

19 

17 

is 

270 

New  York,  . . . 

'  Artificers, 

1 

1 

9 

18 

—  — 

— 

-  — | — - 

-  —  — 



-  — 

— 

— — 

— 

— 

Total,  . . . 

714 


APPENDIX. 


ABSTEACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
Fob  the  Month  of  August,  1782. 


If 

| 

1  * 

c     o 

« 

1      a 

c 

Jj      a 

S    O 

8 

STATES   AND   CORPS.               »?              Q     *• 

.     c            *     £    £ 

%   i 

© 

! 

e 

Regimer 
Colonels 
Lt,  Cols. 
Lieutena 

Captains 
Lieutena 
Ensigns. 
Adjutant 
Quarter- 
Pay-mas 

9 

c      „; 
|    | 

1     1 

a       >1 

1 1 

eg    1 

a 
1    L 

?      a 

El         CO 

3 

0 

1 
§ 

1 

£ 

New  Hampshire ....<     n 

I 

1 

Canada  Regiment 1 

! 

f    1    1        1    - 

18     7     1111 

1  ll  1 

1    21 

a 

18 

336 

2        1        5 

1    9  10    2    1    1    1 

1    ll  1 

1    2$ 

27J17 

335 

8    1              ] 

9  10    4    1    1 

1  11 1 

1    2£ 

2SI16 

327 

4    1         1    ] 

9    7    4    111 

1    ll  1 

1    27 

25|l8 

327 

5             1 

Massachusetts -1     g        ..        : 

8  11    5    1    1    1 
5    8    8    111 

1    3< 
1    2£ 

as 

2'. 

is 
18 

319 

830 

7                  i 

,792111 

1    25 

2 

14 

841 

8    1 

7    8    2    111 

1    31 

27 

IS 

336 

9    1         11 

8  11    2    1    1    1 

1  1 

1    27 

2( 

IS 

356 

h10    1         11 

9    9    5    111 

ii  i 

1    37 

w 

15 

841 

Rhode  Island 1        1        S 

9  10    1    1    1;  1 

1 
8    8    6    111 

1    35 
1    28 

27 

K 

17 

17 

466 
809 

riii 

2    1        ll 

9    7    2    11 

1    34 

24 

15 

811 

Connecticut 1     3   1        11 

9    9    2         11 

I    30 

17 

17 

306 

It1         1    1 

6    6    4    111 

I    40 

28 

10 

283 

I   6        1         2 

7    7    4    1         1 

i 

I    2S 

22 

15 

803 

New  York 

j  1        ii 

•{2    1         11 

8    7    6    111 

8  10    4    1    1    1 

I 

I    32 
I    36 

31 
25 

17 
21 

350 
409 

New  Jersey 

j     1    1         11 
•"j     2    1         11 

9    8    5    11 
8    S    6    1    1    1 

I  \ 

1    " 

1    ] 

29 

2S 

26 
28 

1!) 
15 

296 
276 

Invalids 

2 

1 

3 

4 

5 

40 

Commdr.-in-cliief  s  Gd. 

Sappers  and  Miners 

•  • 

i__ 

5 

4 

1 

62 

Total 

..—-— 

1         1 

T 

T) 

-    • 

| 

! 

i 

B                £ 

. 

E 

1           1  4  i 

Si                                   C 

» 

ARTILLERY. 

i 

a 
3 

3 

2  §  §  | 

1  e  I  a  1  = 

•s    o    5    J   j   4j 

3  S  o  o  «  S 

Adjutants. 
Quarter-mast 
Pay -masters. 
Surgeons. 
Mates. 

Sergeant-Maj 

7      '? 

i  i 

s     8 

i  i     *» 
£  i    to 

"5 
o 
& 

a 

f 

| 

a 

5 

£ 
1 

B 
1 
| 

Q 

1 

o 

"3 
1 

Massachusetts,. . . 

i 

19   7    7    9 

111            11 

1     1 

1    45 

29 

21 

IS 

17 

254 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total, 

APPENDIX 


715 


ABSTRACT    OF   THE   MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  September,  1TS2. 


710 


APPENDIX. 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OP    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
Foe  the  Month  of  October,  17S2. 


STATES   AND   CORPS. 

*  J 
$  6 

-5     G 

■z      O 

1  a 
Q  ! 

—     c 

o  1 

a  3 

i 
a 

91 

Captains. 

Lieutenants. 

Ensigns. 

Adjutants. 

Quarter-masters. 

Fay-masters. 

| 

1  B* 
|  1 

5     « 
C     § 

V 

p 

s 

Z     efl 

| 
1 

e 

s 

i 

1 

1 

New  Hampshire •< 

Canadiau  Regiment. . . 

Massachusetts -1 

Rhode  Island 

l 

2 
1 

1  1 
2 

3  1 

4  1 
5 

6 
7 

8  1 

9  1 
10    1 

1 

2  1 

3  1 

4  1 
5 

1 
2    1 

1 
2 

1 

1 

1    2 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1    2 
1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

2 

1 
2 

1 
1 
1 
2 

1 
1 

2 

1 
1 
1 
2 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

6    6    2 
8    9    3 

8  11    2 
711    1 

9  9    4 
8  10    3 

6  11    4 
6,  8    8 

7  9    1 

8  9    3 

6  12    8 

9  5    6 

8    8    5 
9:  8    3 
S    6    1 

8  S    3 
67    8 

9  10    6 

7  9    4 

7  10    3 
7    6    6 

4    3    3 

2    2 
2 
4 

~~T 

1     1 
1     1 

1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 

1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 
1     1     1 
111 

1     1 
1     1     1 

1     1 
1 

1     1 

1            1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

11 
1 

l! 
1 

1 

l! 

\ 

1 

i 

1 

1 
l 

1 

l 

1 

1     1 
1     1 

1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 

1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1     1 
1    1 

1     1 
1     1 

1     1 
1     1 

1     1 

1     1 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1    2" 
1    3' 

1    2( 
1    96 

1,  24 
1!  31 
1    2£ 
1    2] 
1    27 
1    2fl 
1    2g 
3S 

1    29 
1    33 
1    27 
1    36 
1    24 

1    29 
1    36 

28 
1    22 

20 

12 
8 
5 

'    V 
2( 

a 

2' 

2: 
2" 
1! 
8f 
M 
21 

1 

21 
24 
18 

11 

33 

24 

2C 
21 

18 

4 
4 
4 

[  14 

j  U 

IS 
1- 
111 
17 
17 
17 
14 

id 

17 

lis 

323 
323 

844 
352 
852' 
844 
824! 
356! 
852 

:   357; 

j  837 
833 

Connecticut -j 

New  York i 

16    233 

14  [  273 
18    229 

14  226 

15  212 

18!  411 
20,  436 

16  2S3 
15;  266 

7    193 

4!     92 
5     51 
1      58 

New  Jersey -j 

Maryland  Detachment. 

Commdr.-in-chief  s  GUI. 
Sappers  and  Miners. . . 

Total 

ARTILLERY. 

z 

: 

c 
c 

C 

3 

-    s 

'i?     ZT 

S   6 

S    5 

1     1 

a  1 
«  a 
1  2 

g  , 

r    5 

J   .= 

_     -3 

i  . 

1  s 

*  a  s 

-2    S    S 

.   5    «f 

=     a     c 

tf   fe    « 

o 

I 

1 

5        ® 

it 

3 

S 

| 

5 

I  \ 

(5   £ 

;  i 

\  % 

i   X 

:     «3 

I 

6 

■5 

■8 

s 

1 

C3 

s  1 
a 

£ 
| 

| 

Massachusetts,. . . 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total, 

i 

1 

110 

1    7 
1 

0    9 
7    6 

li. 

LI    J 
11    j 
1 

[111 
1111 

1       1 

1 

1 

1 

1  ] 
3 

46 
20 
14 

35 
17 

25 

22 

IS 

10 
14 

294 
226 
53 

APPENDIX 


717 


ABSTKACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  November,  1782. 


STATES   AND  CORPS. 


3 
.     a  -e 

m       s      m      B 

till 

«     .2       C      "3 
O    i3    K    •< 


New  Hampshire 


Massachusetts - 


Connecticut. , 


New  York, 


New  Jersey < 

Maryland  Detachment. 

Invalids 

Commdr.-in-chief  s  Gd. 

Sappers  and  Miners. . . 

Total 


.Ml 

8  10 


1    7 


1    1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 


l!  1    80 
1         37 


21  16 
24  16 

22*18 
29  13 

27il7 
2318 
27117 
26,18 
21112 
30|14 
2618 
21  14 


51  42  21 
55  35  25 
50    87  31 


29    31 
39    24 


IS 


339 
301 

I 

357: 

355 
.",53 
853 
342 
359 
361 
361 
326 
355 


420 
457 


407 
435 


280 
192 
113 


11     55 
I 


ARTILLERY. 


Si    S 

i  :     M 

E    S 


Massachusetts,. 
New  York,  . . . 

Artificers, 

Total,  . . . 


43 

85 

19 

15 

14 

283 
211 
53 


718 


A  P  P  E  X  D  1  X 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY 
Fob  the  Month  of  December,  1782. 


o 

to 

Regiments. 

Colonels. 

Lt.  Cols.  Commdts. 

Lieutenant  Colonels. 

Majors. 

Captains. 

Lieutenants. 

Ensigns. 

Adjutants. 

Pay-masters. 

Surgeons. 

Mates. 

Sergeant-Majors. 

Quarter-master  sergts. 

Drum-majors. 

Fife-majors. 

Sergeants. 

Corporals. 

j 

1 
■ 

1      1 

Canadian 1             12    7    5   3 

New  Hampshire....-}      *               1  *:   5  « 

(       *                      1     o    0           1 

f    1    1                  6    8    2    1 

2  !  2    5  10    21  1 

3  1          :  1    5    S    3      j  - 

Massachusetts J     i    }        *        ^6    2    l| 

o    1         1         5    4    4    11 

6  1                   5    2    5!  2    ] 

7  14    9    3    11 
LSI        1        710    4    1    1 

(11             15    3    5    11 
Connecticut 1     2                 145   3 

(3                 14    2    4    1: 
Rhode  Island 1!        i        299211 

Ill         1    ll  19|  15  1 

II  11          11         24:  19  1 
I            ill          1         80    28  1 

t   S               !         1 

I  1    1;    1     1    1    11  33    231 

III  1    1     1    1    1    27    241 

I  |    1     1    1         31    28  1 

II  |          1    1    1    30    27  1 
1111         1    1    34    27  1 

I  1      j    1     1         1    33    27  2 

III  1     1    1    1    33    23  1 

II  111         35    33  1 

1 

III  11        44    33  2 
11         111         50    27  2 

1    1    2   37    80  2 

II  1    1    1    1    35    27  1 

11          1    1    1    1    31    23  1 
11          1     11  1         34    24  1 

I  1111         24    23  1 

II  1          1    1    27    19  1 
11111             191  17 

1          41    3    - 

111111           6      7' 

1 f  | f  J 

7  418 
6  321 
6   291 

6  432 
S   427 

7  415 

3  408 
S  424 
1  427 
S   425 

1   428 

0  389 
i  400 
7  395 
5  399 

7  378 
5  899 
7  280 
t  261 
"    192 

1  52 

r  163 

53 

r 

New  York i     *             1  J    J    7    4 

j     2!                 17    4    2    1 

i  New  Jersey J     j*             1        2    8    3         ] 

17                  (2|                 1274         1 
I  Maryland  Detachment.!                      14    3    3    1] 

(Invalids 1                  14         11 

i  Sappers  and  Miners. . .  j                          8 
Total 

AKTILLERY. 

c 

Lieutenant-Colonels. 

Majors. 

Captains. 

Capt.  Lieutenants. 

1st  Lieutenants. 

2d  Lieutenants. 

Adjutants. 

Quarter-masters. 

Pay-masters. 

Surgeons. 

Mates. 

,0    «      .                                           .3 
SI    1  &,  £      ,      .     v            1 

i  f  I  T  1    11    s    i 

v  1  1  J    I    &   1    1    I 

k  v  a  £i  tc    0    a    0    © 

11         1    37    29    20    28    18 
1         1    21    14      6    20    15 
14 

271 
1S4 
49 

Massachusetts,. . . 
New  York, 

1 

1       j 

6   5    7   9    l!  1         ll 
1         6    5    2  13         1         1 

Total 

I       II 

1 

Cavalry. 

3 

6 

Majors. 

Cap  ftins. 

1st  Lientenants. 

2d  Lieutenants. 

Cornets. 

Adjutants. 

Quarter-masters. 

Pay-masters. 

burgeons. 

Mates. 

Sergeant-Majors. 

Quarter-master  sergts. 

Riding-masters. 

Trumpet-majors. 

Sergeants. 

Corporals. 

Trumpters. 

Buglers. 

Drummers  and  Fifers. 

Farriers. 

Clerks. 

C 

Sheldon's 1 

Van  Heer j 

1 

1    3    41             11              1| 

2         1              1 

2,  11     112  22    4      1     14    11 

8    4    31                      ] 

[214 
41 

Total....|     1 

■*■      ! " 

~rH — H) — ~r 

APPENDIX, 


719 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE   MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 

For  tiik  Month  of  January,  1783. 


BTATKS  AND  CORPS. 

2 

0 

0 

3 

O 

i 

g 

3 

8 

2 

3 

E 

g 

<! 

1 
9f 

£ 
S' 

c 

3 

c 
7; 

i 

2 

.$. 

s 

g 

CO 

1 

1 
9 

1 

a 

Q 

'2 

2 

B 

co 

1 

§ 

E 

£ 
I 

Q 

New  Hampshire 

1 

!  2 

r  i 
i 
i 

4 
5 
« 

7 

S 

i 

i 

\i 

L 
I. 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
2 

1 

2 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

6 
5 

7 
4 
6 
4 
8 
G 
4 
6 

5 

4 
4 

7 
4 

4 
3 

4 

1 
3 

4 
4 

7 
8 
7 
8 
1 

S 

0 

B 

5 
2 

8 
G 

7 
6 

8 

1 

4 

2 

;; 

2 
3 
3 
5 
3 
4 

5 
8 

4 

5 
5 

3 
3 

3 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 
i 

i 

i 
i 

i 
i 
i 

i 

1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

2 

i 

1 

22 
30 

32 
2'J 

2!) 

a 

33 
80 
88 

37 

44 

GO 

37 

33 
85 

23 
24 

17 

4 

6 

4 

21  |l4 
20  15 

25,18 
31 1 17 
29,18 
26^16 

327 

300 

447 
421 
427 
422 
427 
427 
425 
427 

3S9 

400 
395 

372 

404 

274 
270 

188 
45 

163 
53 

Connecticut ■ 

New  York 

24 

28 

31 

88 

27 
3i 

27 
21 

28 

24 

It 
8 
7 
8 

2D 
IS 
14 

20 
23 

27 

15 

IS 

17 
13 

7 

4 

7 

1 

Maryland  Detacbmen 
Commdr.-in-chief  s  Gc 

Sappers  and  Miners. . 
Total 

ARTILLERY. 

i 
i 

.     c 
1    I 

1* 

0 

3 

1 

= 

3 
S 

g 

5 

g 
0 

i 

3 

CO 

P. 

a 

/. 

1 
5 

i 

2      « 

£  l    CO 

i 

a,  j 

6 

■5 
| 

c 
g 

■a 

] 

Q 

m 

Massachusetts,. . . 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total, 

1 

L 

6 
6 

1 

5 
5 

T 
2 
1 

9 

it 

1 
"1 

1 

1 
1 

1 
1 

1 

1        1 
1 

1 
1 

37 
21 
14 

29 
14 

20 
6 

M 

20 

IS 
1C 

271 

1S4 

49 

720 


APPENDIX. 


ABSTRACT    01'    TIIE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  February,  17S3. 


1 

1 

8 

a. 

Regiments. 

Colonels. 

Lt.  Cols.  Commdts. 

Lieutenant  Colonels. 

Majors. 

Captains. 

Lieutenants. 

I 
S                       .2,   £      ■ 

.ill s    i  1 1 
1 1 1 i  S  i  ill 

h  <<  or  £  da  X    <«  »  q 

1'  ite-majors. 
Sergeants. 
Corporals. 

Drummers  and  Fifers. 
Privates. 

New  Hampshire.... -j     \                 2    4    < 

f    1    1        1    1    5    S 

2  2    4    S 

3  16    7 

Massachusetts 1     5    1i            \\\ 

6  j            17    1 

7  !  1         2    3    5 
I     8    li        1         6    7 

j 
(11              16   4 
Connecticut 1     2    1        1154 

11        1         11 
111        1         11 

2  111        1111 

3  1111          11 

2  1        1          111 

3  111                   li 
3    1111          1        ll 
6    11111          11 
3    11111     111 
5   11111         1    i 

3  12    11 
2    11              1          11 
2             1    1    1     1    1    1 

5         11         11         1 

4  1111          111 

4   1              1          11 

2  11         11111 

3  11111     11 

1 
1111     111 

21  21  1 
26    191 

1    32    25 '] 
1    28    811 

22  281 
1    30    261 

34    281 
1    34    24  1 
1    32    24  1 
1    40    28 1 

1    42    35  2 

53    31  2 

1    40    24  2 

1    35    2S1 
1    37    25  2 

26    21  1, 
1    24    20  1. 

10    15    ' 
3          { 

13    13    8 
5     2    1 

1 
4!  324 
3    291 

8   442 

7  423 

8  426 

6  422 

7  426 

9  434 
S    430 
5    424 

d    377 
I    411 
7    407 

'    307 
1    412 

>    276 
?    273 

f    196 

)     53 

164 

55 

|     3                  12    6 
New  York i     J             ?    J    0    I 

(     2             1 1  1    2    9 

New  Jersey i     ^                 175 

Maryland  Detachment.                       14   8 
Commdr.-in-chief  s  Gd.                                 1 
Invalids 1                   a 

Sappers  and  Miners 

1 

Total 

j 

| 

ARTILLERY. 

§ 

Lieutenant-Colonels. 

Majors. 

Captains. 

Capt.  Lieutenants. 

1st  Lieutenants. 

2d  Lieutenants. 

Adjutants. 

Quarter-masters. 

Mates. 

Sergeant-Majors. 

(luarter-master  sergts. 

Drum-majors. 

ray-masters. 

Fife-majors. 

Sergeants. 

Corporals. 

Bombardiers. 

Gunners 

Drummers  and  Fifers. 

1 
a 

*5 

Massachusetts,. . . 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total, 

1 

4    8    8    5    1 
11444    9>  11 
1         1    1 

1    1    1    1    1    47    86 
11     1    1    1    1    1    20    15 
1              12 

22    21     IS 
4    16    14 

26    37 1  32 

805 
200 
51 
536 

1 

1    1    912J1S15    2    1 

11     2    2|  3(  2J  2    79    51 

APPENDIX. 


721 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
Fob  thk  Month  ov  March,  17S3. 


hTATKS   AND   CORPS. 


New  Hampshire. 
Do.  Battalion 


Massachusetts. . . 


Rhode  Island. 


Connecticut.. 


£  a 


ij 

1! 
1! 

2 

3 

4   1 


6   1 
7 
I 


''  New  York. 


1 
1 
9 
8 
1 
2 

New  Jersey \  |  1 

Do.  Battalion |  1 

Penn'a  Detachment 

Delaware    do 

Maryland    do j 

Guards  

Invalids | 

Sappers  and  Miners 


Total. 


3    o 


Tt 


l!    1 

ll    1 


l!  l 
i 


l  i 
l   l 

l  i 
i  1 
l  1 
l  l 
1  i 
11 
l  l 
l   l 


!  1 

1I  1 
11 

! 

l\ 
ill 


i  i 
i  i 


147  158  75  19  19  20  18  15,  20  20  20  17  753567.843  7894 

I      |     !  I         |!         i    I     i      I  _  I      I 


6   ft 


27  -22  15    224  | 

4S|  38  21;    404 

59    38  18'    485 

49 l  35  25 

2(5  17 

27  19 
23 


31:  21'  503 

14  j  T  179 

25  18;  459 

34  18  439 

38,  19  449 

29!  171  444 

28  16,  443 

30  19t  460 

25!  18  446 

32  18  450 


4<i 


45 

'20 
10 

2 
17    15 

5     4 
24j  19 

5     4 


419 
446 
1S3 
100 

63 
203 

50 
215 

55 


ARTILLERY. 


Massachusetts,. . , 

New  York, 

Pennsylvania,  . 
Mass.  Artificers, 
Penn.        do — 


Total.... 


10  10 
6  14 
I  1 
1  1 
1 


2    2    2  IS  16  19  26    2    2    1 


22    21 

7    18 
2 


3    2|  2    95:  61]  31    39    321  657 


386 
231 
81 

57 
2 


Sheldon's. 
Van  Heer. 


Total. 


5  101 

1    2 


1    1    1 


7  181  3, 
3    4    8 


4022i  6| 


1274 


31 


722 


A  P  P  E  >i  D 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTEUS    OF    THE    gtOttTFIEKN    ARMY 
Fo:i  thf.  Month  or  April,  1788, 


tiTATK^    AND   COKl'.S. 


I  New  Hampshire. . 
Do.  Battalion 


i 


3    £i  ^  j  i?\  c 


Massachusetts. . . 


Bhode  Island 


I    l 
4   1 


6    i 

7 

8,  1 


tL 

■         ■ 

'P.         ?. 

.-. 

g 

•/. 

" 

.■-\~ 

2   it 

2    4 


I  I 


Connecticut.. 


j 

i 

1  N<;\v  York i 

I  N>w  Jersey. .  ' 

I  Do.  Battalion 
Md.  Detachment... 
Guards  
Invalids 

I  Sappers  and  Miners 


1    1 

a  i 


i   i 

i  i 
j  i 


ii  i  i  i 

1  \  V  1    1 


I     I     i     1  r  a  |  42  82 
111!  1    20   15 


111  i     i 

111  11 

1     1     i  1     1 

1     I      1  !     1 

I     1     Ij  1     1 

ill    ii    i 


l    i 
l    l 


s      8 
II  |  7 

8      8 


4    11 

9      l     1     I 


II  4 

1     4 

1 


Total. 


1     1 
1     1 


1    1    1 
1         1 


i      ! 

1  1 

1  1 

1  ! 

1  1 

1  1 

1  1 

1  1 


1     1     1 


I  1 
i     1     1 

II  1 


6  1     l     I     i 

7  1111 

8  ill  i  a 


i    i  i 

i  i 

i  i 

1  ! 

:  i 

i  i 


I     1     1,1     ! 

11111] 


6  9  2!  140  140  70  18  19  19  IS  17  20  19 

I  !      I    I    |    I    j 


1 1  i 
l    i 

*i  A 

M  1 
i     1 

I     l 

i     1 

'    1 

!     i 


1    11 
I     1 

If 
l: 

I      ! 

1  1 


88  25 

83  88 

81  88 

39  26 

4:)  29 

87  80 

83  25 

41  81 


1917 


49 

:;: 

38 

27 

40 

27 

15 

85 

20 

18 

17 

15 

35    21 
86    15 

8  2:; 
17 
19 

8 

7 


494 

172 

458 

434 
451 
431 
441 
460 
449 
430  I 


714  527 


317  7407 


Massachusetts.... 
New  York 


Mass.  Artificers, 
Total 


■Z    ,2 


8 
5    6 

H  1 


15  1547  2,, 


1    1 

a!  i 


Sheldon's. 
Van  I  leer. 


Total....  | 


2         1 


I    1 


;.  •  a 


; 

■- 

ta 

™ 

■ 

2 

- 

~ 

■g 

a 

s 

g 

\ 

;"< 

i 

5 

§ 

a 

G 

!K 

X 

6 

0 

S 

5 

P 

~ 

f 

— 



— 

1 

1 

48 

37 

22 

21 

Ifl 

1 

1 

23 
12 

22 

7 

18 

12 

— 

— 

— 

— 







2 

2    88 

59 

29 

39 

30 

339 
218 
58 

615 


2 


4     3 


I    ! 


1|  40 


APPENDIX. 


123 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY 
For  the  Months  of  May  and  June,  17S3. 


STATES   AND   CORPS. 


Canadian  Regiment. 
Now  Hampshire 


Massachusetts 


Connecticut 

Sappers  and  Miners... 
Rhode  Island  for  May. 

Total 


i     J 

8.1 
4    1 


a  % 


i 

1  s 

2  9 
18 

1    8 


v 

1 

6   8 


1    1    1 


1. 1;  i 

si     1  1 

1  1  1 

7   1!  l!  1 


8    1 


2   1 

_L 

I     t 


1 

!'i  1 
1     1 

lii  1 


1!!  i 


J    i 


21 
1910 


82  19 

36  14 
26  12 

25  12 


29 
1 

25  17 

j 

I 


ARTILLKKY. 

0 

-- 
0 

I 

3 

a 

6 

S 

3 

5 
a 

'2 

V 

< 

1 

i 

c 

r. 

s 

o 

a 

I 

3 

- 

1 

H 

"5 
- 

C 

1 

l 

1 
6 

1 

1 

Massachusetts,. . . 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

Total 

1 

1 

-: 
3 

4 
1 

•t 
2 
1 

8 
4 

1 
1 

i 
i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 

11 

4 

12 
5 

6 
2 

4 
2 

191 

58 
8 

ft 

6:  ~ 


Sheldon's. 
Van  Heer. 


1    II   1    2 


Totai 1 


I  ?    « 


724 


APPENDIX. 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OF    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  July,  1783. 


STATES   AND   CORPS. 


New  Hampshire.. 
Massachusetts <     i 


Connecticut 

Sappers  and  Miners. 


Total. 


15 

1  8 

2  9 


1     1 


I     I 


1     ill 

ill 
1     I 


If, 
23 
M 
84 

35 
27 

1 

n 


:>r>5 
BW 
B66 
mi; 
418 
28 


ARTILLERY. 


Massachusetts,.  ..II 

Nesv  York, 

Artificers, 


Total. 


1    1    1 
1    1 


For 

the  Month 

of  August, 

17S3. 

j 

1 

§ 

1 

c 

e 

£ 

STATES  AND   CORPS. 

a 
J 

2 

j 

3 

0 

5 

i 

a 

S 

=       3 

£    - 

o  p 

=    2 

1  s 

3 
o 

| 

| 

s 

7 

2 

1. 

:      5 

5  £ 

I 

o 
5. 

0 

•a 
a 

e 

1 

E 
p 

■ 

•2 

New  Hampshire 

Bat.... 
f 

1 

1 

V 

1 1 

i 

1 

1 

1 

11  11 

11,     7 

230 

Massachusetts.. . 

'-' 

2  7|  S 

6    1 

i  i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1   1    81 

36   13 

438 

1    • 

1 

2   8   t 

6   1 

i  i 

1 

1 

l 

1    1 

35|  26   13 

497 

Connecticut 

1 

i 
1 

i 

i 

1   7   1 
i  7   £ 
i  1 

8   1 

Vi 

i  i 
i  i 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

86  26  12 

512 

Sappers  and  Miners 

28:  27 
1 

6     5 

0 

413 
14 

81 

Rhode  Island 

1  2  a 

l1 1 

4 

i  li  Jl 

Total 

i  1 

i  i  i  n  !  ii  t 

rn 



4 

i 

1 

i 

ARTILLERY. 

S 

8 

3 

i 

0 

1 
| 

a 

3 

-' 

'3 

3 

= 

a 

- 

2 

9 

1 

■< 

i 
1 

3    - 
jo-  P 

?    3     3 

M     fl       S 

i 

i 
■ 

1 

1 

B 

- 

I 

2 

si 

4 

a 
a, 

0 

•3 
I 
A 

3 

c 

a 

a 

I 

i 

i  « 

£ 

Massachusetts,  . . 

II 

New  York, 

Artificers, 

1 

1 

2 

2    4 

11 

l 

1 

1 

Is 

6 

2 

B 

68 
2 

APPENDIX 


121 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OP    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Month  of  September,  17S3. 


STATES   AND  CORPS. 


New  Hampshire 

1st  Massachusetts 

2d  ditto  , 

3d  ditto 

4th  ditto 

Rhode  Island 

Connecticut 

Sappers  and  Miners  . 


Total. 


9  4 
6 
6 

7 
1 
2 


I    ! 


1 

11 

1 

34 

1 

31 

1 

35 

85 

6 

1 

27 

1 

13    6  223 

24  18  479 

86  13  438 

26  13  497 


4S2 
81 
363 


ARTILLKUY. 


Massachusetts,. 
New  York,  . .. 
Artificers, 


Total. 


4   1 

1    2    2 


3    t 

H 

ft  s 


■Sj  \0 
1      1 


1 
| 
I 

175 
54 


For  the  Months  of  October,  November,  and  December,  17S3. 


STATES  AND   CORPS. 


1st  Massachusetts... 

2d  ditto 

3d  ditto 

4th  ditto 

New  Hampshire . . . 

Connecticut 

Sappers  and  Miners 

Total , 


910 
9|  9 
910 

9|  9 
5  5 


MM 


21  13 

28  13 

25  11 

24  12 

14  7 


460 
444 


459 
241 


10 


I       I 


AUTILLEUr. 


Massachusetts, 
New  York,  . . , 
Artificers, 


1    8 
5 


5     1 

2      2 


726 


APPENDIX 


ABSTRACT    OF    THE    MUSTERS    OP    THE    NORTHERN    ARMY, 
For  the  Months  of  January,  February,  March,  and  April,  1784. 


bTATES   AND   CORPS. 


Jackson's  Regiment... 
Invalids 


Field  and  Staff,  and 
eight  Companies  of 
Jackson's  Regiment 
for  May  and  June.. 

Invalids 


Total . 


1    1    9 


1    S 


9,  8 
1 


I     I 


1 

u 


86 


421 
12 


3S4 
14 


ARTILLERY 

For  January,    February,  March,  and  April,  com- 
manded by  .Major  Baumann. 


January,  February,  March,  April 

I  May  and  June 

|  Lt.  Jefferdt's  Detachment  for  Jan.  and  Feb. 


Total.  . 


1    2 

1 


61  11-1 
5  1  1 
I    2 


6    8 


For  the  Month  of  September,  17S4. 


STATES  AND   COUPS. 

-2 

9 

3 

6 
3 

3 

i 

- 

| 

'3 

H 
— ' 
< 

2                S 
2     •           *? 
£    a            a 
=     I     »      ? 
>>   g>    2    |g* 
3h   5  IS    joa 

Quarter-master  sergts. 
Drum-majors. 
Fife-major*. 
Sergeants. 

II 

5     ft 

Troops  under  Colonel 

Harmer. 

Pennsylvania 

- 

1 

i 

- 

- 

8 

1 

4 

8 

2 

5 

2 

l 

1 

1 

— JiL 
1    1    2 

1              7 

7     4 

Jersey 

1<2 

Total  Infantry.  . .  . 

Invalids  for  July,  Aug.,  ) 
Sept.  and  Oct! J 

8b 

3 

i         is! 

1    2i 

7     G 
1 

2o8 

18 

ARTILLERY. 

8 
6 

3 

i 

2_ 

r. 

1 

1    I     i 

S"  J  ■?  ! 

■  i  1  1 1 

■«        *5         CO      O 

'1    ,; 

s      S 
|      | 

I    3   : 

§     J 

Harmer's  for  September 

Doughty  for  July,  August,  September,  and 
October 

1 
1 

1 

1    1 

3    3 
6    B 

3    3 

2136 

2 148 

INDEX. 


Academy,  Military,  plan  of,  5b>. 

Adams.  John,  Steuben  introduced  to,  Jt. 
Vice  President,  551.  Cincinnati,  574. 
Daughter  marries  Win.  S.  Smith,  63a. 

Adams,  Samuel,  75.  Steuben  introduced  to, 
97.     Anecdotes,  98. 

Adams,  T.,  11)2. 

Adjutant  General  appointed  by  Con- 
gress, 811.  ttno 

Advertiser,  N.  Y.  Daily,  quoted,  523. 

AlX-LA-ClIAR-ELLE.  79.  «,  _ 

Albany,  288.    Arms  at,  253.    Freedom  of 

city  to  Steuben.  577.     Great  commer- 
cial metropolis,  632. 

Albemarle  Barracks,  429.     C.  II.,  449. 

Allen  town,  157. 

Allimanoe  Creek,  400. 

Alyensleben,  Von,  644. 

Amboy,  South,  157. 

Amelia  C.  H.,  419. 

Amory,  Tiios.  G,  jr.,  129. 

Andre,  2-9,  025. 

Anhalt,  Count,  GO. 

Annapolis,  414,  521,537. 

Appomatox  River,  424. 

Arvnda,  Count  De,  09.  Advises  Steuben, 
75. 

Arbuthnot,  412. 

Armand,  Col..  329,  621. 

Armstrong,  Major  John,  author  of  New- 
burg  letter.  149,  534,  513,  5S5. 

Army,  sad  condition  of,  L18.  English  sys- 
tem in.  114.  Pay-roll,  116.  Arrives  at 
White  Plains,  165.  Strength  of,  224. 
Situation  of  after  capture  of  Stony  Point. 
232.  Transactions  in  regard  to  estab- 
lishment of.  212,  U  seq.  Quota  of  the 
several  Slates,  320.  Contrast  between 
position  of  Northern  and  Southern,  842. 
Insubordination  in  Southern,  308.  Em- 
barrassment by  Arnold's  invasion,  3S7. 
Desertion  from,  892.  Description  of  at 
surrender  of  Cornwallis,  461.  Discip- 
line, 4S9.  Encamped  at  Newburg  and  in 
the  Jersevs,  400.  Strength  of  different 
corps,  497'.  Arrearages ofpay, 500.  Dis- 
bandment  discussed,  511.  Good  for- 
tune in  having  Steuben  for  instructor, 
645. 
Arnold,  B.,  278.  Treason  of,  2S9.  Leads 
troops  to  Virginia,  371.    Escape  of,  413. 


Arnold,  B. — continued. 

Joins  Phillips,  427.     Fleury  speaks  of, 

625.     At  court,  G36. 
Arnold,  Jonathan,  memorial  for  change 

of  name,  291. 
Asia,  the,  fires  upon  New  York,  630. 
Augusta  County,  402,  435,  451. 
Austria,  590. 
Auxkrres,  565. 


Baden,  Margrave  of,  74. 

Bai.eysiutrg,  367. 

Baltimore,  456. 

Bam  hero,  53. 

Barbadoes,  New,  577. 

Barber,  Col.,  126,  500,  009. 

Barras,  Mr.,  455. 

Basedow,  91. 

Batavia,  36S. 

Bath,  Earl  of,  615. 

Baumann,  Col.  572 

Beaumaroiiais,  M.  De,  70.    Advance  to  U. 

S.,  76.    Named,  009. 
Benson,  Mr.,  (520. 
Bergen,  165.    Neck.  298,  577. 
Berky,  Rev.  A.,  Out. 
Berlin,  515. 
Bermudas,  18S. 
Bethlehem,  90. 
BlLLlKGSPORT,  221. 

Bland,  Col.,  339,  549. 

BlANDFORD,  424. 

Bloodworth,  Mr.,  548. 

Blue  Book,  the,  528. 

Bixeciiei:.  Field  Marshal,  62. 

Botetourt  County,  401. 

Boonesville,  599. 

Boston,  574,  011. 

Bottom  Bridge,  428. 

Bouchet,  Chev.  Du,  565. 

Buudinot,  E.,  letter  from  Hamilton  to,  169. 

Aids    Steuben,   239.      Appealed  to  by 

Steuben,  594. 
!  Bouilly,  Marquis  De,  Gov.  of  Martinique,  76. 

BOUNDBROOK,  221. 

Bourbon,  House  of,  63. 
Bowling  Green,  031. 
Brandenburg,  045. 
Brandywine.  023. 
Breslai-,  043. 


728 


I  N  D  E  X 


Breton  Point,  025. 

Bkoad  River,  399. 

BROADWATER,  422. 

Broglio,  Maj.,  1S2. 

Brooklyn,  298,  494. 

Brooks,  Col.,  120,  534.    In  camp,  021. 

Bruce,  045. 

Brubbe,  Theodore,  005. 

Brunswick,  157. 

Bin  tus,  509. 

Bufoed,  Col.,  303. 

Bulow,  II.  D.  Vox,  531. 

Bunker's  Hill,  54S. 

BUNZKLWITZ,  50. 

Buegoyne,  capitulation  of,  91. 

Burke,  Judge  Acdanus,  558. 

BURKERSDORF,  043. 

Burnet,  Maj.,  340,  574. 
Burweli/s  Ferry,  427. 
Bythinia,  352. 


Cabin  Point,  370,  423. 
Cabrera,  040. 
Call,  Maj.,  443,  470. 
Camden,  Gates  defeated  at,  343. 
Cam  pit  ell,  Col.,  393,  407. 
Canada,  conquest  of,  295.    Steuben  s  mis- 
sion to,  520. 
Canitz,  Barons  Von  025. 
Canitz,  Baron  Von,  73. 
Canoni  ut,  625. 
Carlisle,  arms  at,  258. 
Carolina,  So.,  342. 
Carolingian  Dynasty,  560. 
Cariungton,  Col.,  372. 
Carroll,  Mr.,  505. 
Carter's  Ferry,  429,  431,  452. 
Cartiiagena,  5S3. 
Cary,  Mr.  Speaker,  439. 
Cassius,  569. 
Catawba,  399. 
ClIACKATUK.  392,  415. 
ClIAMBLKE,  522. 

Champagne,  590. 

Champlain,  Lake,  521. 

Charles  III.  of  Spain,  81. 

Charleston,    203.      Investment    of,    294. 

Cruising  station,  400.    Natural  strength 

of,  493.     Cincinnati,  574. 
Charlotte,  300,  399.     (C.  II.),  432,  448. 
Ciiarlotteville,  Legislature  moves  to* 433 
Chesapeake  Bay,  347,  453. 
Chester,  289,  340. 
Ciiesteei-teld,  300-303,  416. 
Chickahominy,  375,  423. 
Church,  St.  Paul's,  580.  German  Reformed, 

583. 
Cincinnati,  order  of,  519,  554.    Basis  of 

556.     Festivals,  572,  573.     City,  575.       ' 
Cincinnatus,  347,  556. 
Claiborne,  Maj.,  373.    Complains  of  affairs 

881.   Do.,  395.    Vain  effort  to  protect  the 

State,  433. 
Class,  Col.,  376. 
Class,  Mrs.,  017. 
Clarke,  Mr.,  505. 
Clinton,  Gen.,  151.     Goes  to  Monmouth, 

loS.    Proceeds  to  the  South,  343.    Corn- 

wallis   marches  towards,  427.     Orders 

troops  from  Cornwallis,  452.   Gov.,  581 


Cobiiam,  427. 

Cochrane,  Lieut.  Col.,  639. 
Coggivs  Point,  370. 
Colberg,  47,  643. 
Cole's  Ferky,  44S. 
College,  Columbia,  592. 
Condottieri,  645. 

Congress,  Com.  of  wait  on  Steuben,  102. 
Give  an  entertainment  to  Steuben,  103. 
Resolutions,  ib.  Sends  Com.  to  Valley 
Forge.  100.  Resolve  to  app.  insp.  gen., 
121.  Reply  to  Washington,  137.  Reso- 
lutions submitted  to  by  Inspection 
Board,  147.  Plan  of  inspection,  192. 
Orders  Steuben's  Regulations  publish 
ed,  210.  Compliment  to  Steuben,  220. 
Reimburses  Steuben  for  expenses  of 
coming  to  America,  239.  Apportionment 
of  recruits  to  States,  255.  Appoints  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  Washington,  272. 
Modifies  its  plan  of  inspectorship,  308. 
Appoints  adjutant  general,  811.  Plan 
of  inspecting  and  mustering  departs., 
316.  Makes  Gates  commander  of  South- 
ern army,  343.  Appoints  Greene  his 
successor,  345.  Sees  political  value  of 
Lafayette's  alliance,  477.  Resolutions  in 
regard  to  the  same,  478.  Approves 
Steuben's  plan  of  inspectorship,  4S5. 
Makes  him  inspector  general,  483.  Dis- 
charges officers  and  soldiers,  523.  Pre- 
sents a  sword  to  Steuben,  527.  Settle- 
ment with  officers,  532.  Resolutions, 
534.  Final  adjustment,  551. 
Connecticut  Farms,  277.  Line,  mutiny 
in,  492.  ' 

Constable's  Point,  293. 
Contrat  Social,  82. 
Conway,  Gen.,  106,  121.     Intrigues,  646, 

648. 
Cook,  Capt.,  593. 
Cooper's  Mill,  406,  415. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  160.     Has  entered  Jer- 
sey, 196.     Goes  into  interior  of  S.  Caro- 
lina. 343.    At  Hillsborough,  415.     Sends 
to  Phillips,  427.    Crosses  James  River, 
432.     Evacuates  Richmond,  452.    Evac- 
uates Portsmouth,  453.    Capitulates,  ib. 
Particulars  of  his  surrcnfler,  459.   Treat- 
ment of  after  surrender,   464.     North 
present  at  surrender  of,  626. 
Costa  Firma,  82. 
Coudrai.  Mr.  Du.  71. 

Cocrt  House,  Prince  George's,  376,  423. 
Hanover,  377.  Guilford,  400.  Powhat- 
tan,  424.  Cumberland  old,  4"  ',  449. 
New  Kent,  428.  Prince  Edward,  432, 
448,  449.  Charlotte,  432,  448.  Halifax, 
432,448.  Goochland,  441.  Louisa,  443.' 
Albemarle,  449.  Amelia,  449. 
Oouetlandt,  Gen.  Van,  570.  Regiment. 
631.  ' 

Courtlandt,  Philip,  567. 
COWPBNS,  400. 

Creek,  Four   Mile.  373.      Cross,  401,  416. 
Pagan's,  423.    Willis's,  443.    Mechunck, 
451.     Wood,  595. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  111. 
Cross  Creek,  401,  416. 
Crosswicks,  157. 
Cumberland  C.  II.,  424. 
Curtis,  Gko.  Ticknor,  535. 
Custis,  Miss,  347. 


INDEX, 


729 


Da  be  ny.  Misses,  580. 

Dabney,  Col.,  405. 

Dan,  the,  400. 

Davies,  Ciis.  S..  574. 

Davies,  Col.,  126,  360.  Account  of  the 
troops,  384.  Removes  stores,  448.  Cited, 
472.  In  camp,  621.  Scanty  information 
as  to,  636. 

Dawson,  H.  B.,  159. 

D'Akobly,  St.  John,  609. 

Deane.  Mr.,  70. 

Deep  River,  419. 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  position  in  grand  ma- 
neuver, 139.  Anecdote,  239.  Mortally 
wounded  at  Camden,  343.  Hatred  of 
England,  477. 

De  Kalb,  Capt.  Henry,  459. 

Delaware,  549. 

Democrat,  St.  Charles,  605. 

Depontiere,  Mr.,  103. 

D'Estaing,  Count,  186,  564. 

Destouches,  Admiral,  406,  413. 

Detroit,  521. 

Deuxponts,  457. 

Diebitsch,  Von,  60. 

Dismal  Swamp,  405,  415. 

Doane,  Mrs.,  610. 

Doane,  Sally,  610. 

Dobbs1  Ferry,  303,  624. 

Doeiila,  John  Conrad,  459. 

Don  Quixote,  430. 

Donnersmark,  Count  Henkel  Von,  letter 
to,  49. 

Doughty,  630. 

Dresden,  643. 

Drilling  by  Steuben,  126.    By  Fleurv,  128. 

Duane,  Jas.,  540,  5S2,  630. 

Duanesburg,  590,  599,  629. 

Duer,  Lady  Kitty,  581. 

Duer,  Wm.,  letter  from  Hamilton  to,  41. 
Appealed  to,  54).    Anecdote,  581. 

Duponceau,  Peter  S.,  76.  Anecdote  by, 
97.  Commission  asked  for,  103.  Sketch 
of  army  at  Valley  Forge,  119.  Legacy, 
608.    Sketch  of,  609.    Death,  613. 

Duportail,  88,  465. 

Duval,  Capt.,  608. 


Easton's  Beach,  625. 

Edmond's  Hill,  391. 

Edward,  Fort,  634. 

Effern,  Charlotte  Dorothea  Von,  42. 

Egalite,  (Due  d'Orleans),  609. 

Eimbeck.  858. 

Elizabeth,  Empress  of  Russia,  57. 

Elizabeth  River,  406. 

Elk,  Head  of,  408. 

Ellery,  Mr.,  192. 

Ellsworth,  Mr..  192. 

Enfant  de  l1,  76.     Commission  asked  for, 

103.      Order    of   Cincinnati,    554,   564. 

Named.  60S. 
England,  514,  645. 
English,  Brig.  Maj.,  126. 
Englishtown,  162. 
Epinieres,  Des,  76,  608. 
Eugene.  Prince  of  Savoy,  173.    Example  in 

making  detachments,  305. 

31* 


F. 


Fatrlie,  Jas.,  Captain,  372,  442,  567,  578, 
608.     Sketch  of,  630.     Death  of,  631. 

Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  his  ser- 
vice, 643. 

Ferguson  leads  troops  to  Virginia,  371. 

Fisn,  Brig.  Maj..  126. 

Fish,  Hon.  Hamilton.  555,  574. 

Fish,  Nicholas,  567,  574,  593,  608,  619. 
Sketch  of,  633. 

Fishkill,  99,  627. 

Flamand,  Le,  75.  Arrival  at  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  94. 

Fleury,  Col.,  126.  Letter  of,  128.  Named, 
608.    Sketch  of,  622. 

Floridas,  the,  295. 

Fluvanna,  the,  445. 

Fork,  Point  of,  424,  432. 

Fosey,  Col.,  392. 

Fouque,  De  la  Motte,  Baron,  50. 

Four  Mile  Creek,  373. 

France,  position  of,  79.  News  of  her  alli- 
ance, 137.  Influence  of  in  Europe,  173. 
Teachers  from,  514. 

Francken,  Henriette  Von,  41. 

Francv,  M.  De,  76. 

Franklin,  Dr.,  70.  Great  work  in  France, 
•  89.  Schlosser's  sketch  of,  ib.  Recep- 
tion at  court,  92.  Letters  from  referred 
to,  543. 

Frank,  Mr.  De,  letter  from  Steuben  to,  160. 

Frank,  sailing  name  of  Steuben,  76. 

Fredericksburg,  187,  348,  417. 

Frederickstown,  348. 

Frederick  the  Great,  47.  Founds  light  in- 
fantry in  imitation  of  America,  226. 
Admirer  of  Washington,  330.  His  ser- 
vice, 643. 

Freehold,  157. 


G. 


Galignani's  Messenger,  596. 

Galvan,  Maj.,  609. 

Ganesvoort,  Peter,  594. 

Garden,  A.,  615,  647. 

Gaskins,  Col.  430,  435. 

Gates,  Gen.,  100, 176.  Made  commander  of  j 
Southern  army,  343.  Defeated  at  Cam- 
den, ib.  Cincinnati,  568.  Member  of 
German  Soc,  583.     Intriguer,  64S. 

Gaudy,  General,  601. 

Gemat,  Col.,  163. 

Genesee  Land  Assoc.,  583,  598. 

Genet,  "  Citizen,"  621. 

Genlis,  Mr.  De,  610. 

Georgia,  342. 

Gerard,  Mr.,  letter  to  Steuben,  221.  Opin- 
ion of  action  at  Stony  Point,  230.  Cor- 
respondence of  Steuben  with,  624. 

Germantown,  New,  359,  548. 

Germany,  514. 

Gerry,  E.,  537,  540,  547. 

Geusau,  Von,  60. 

Gibbon,  598. 

Gibbons,  Lieutenant,  638. 

Gibbs,  Mr.,  618,  619. 

Gibson,  Col.,  104,362. 

Grimm,    D.,  584. 

Gist,  Col.  and  Gen.,  263,  456. 


7.10 


INDEX 


Gloucester,  453. 

Gloucester  Point,  151. 

Clover,  Gon.,  stores  drawn  by  his  brink 
233. 

Goat  Island.  626. 

Goochland  0.  H.,  441. 

Gordon,  Wn,  150. 

Gouvion,  Gen.,  410. 

Governor's  Island.  595. 

Grates,  Admiral,  294.  455. 

Grasse,  Count  I)e.  455,  664, 

Great  Bridge,  411. 

Green,  Ashhkl,  Bishop,  277.  Sketch  of 
Steuben,  (537. 

Greene,  Gen  ,  1 10.  His  wife  at  camp,  120. 
Steuben's  advisor.  124.  Commands  r. 
wing  at  Monmouth,  160,  Acct.  of  des- 
titution, 28").  Appointed  Gates's  suc- 
cessor, 844.  His  favorite  authors,  ib. 
Opinion  of  Virginia,  355.  Orders  Steu- 
ben to  join  him,  454.  Endorses  Steuben, 
470.  Ingratitude  of  United  States  to, 
531.     Opinion  of  the  Cincinnati,  5G2. 

Gregory,  Gen  ,  405. 

Griswold,  R.  W.,  571,  531. 

Gross,  Kev.  John  D..  604. 

Gitabdaqut,  Don  Diego,  533. 

Guilford  C.  II.,  400. 

Guyon,  Capt.,570. 


II. 


HaCKEXSACK  River,  303. 

Haddonpield,  157. 

Haldimax,  Gen.,  520.  Reply  to  Steuben, 
522. 

Hale,  Daniel,  594. 

Halifax,  N.  S.,  295,  493. 

Halifax,  Va.,  428.    C.  H,  432,  443. 

Hall,  Col, 566. 

Hamilton,  Alex.,  73.  Opinion  in  regard  to 
Insp.  gen.,  121.  Steuben's  adviser,  124. 
Letter  to  Duer,  141.  At  Monmouth, 
161.  Estimate  of  affair  between  Sreii- 
ben  and  Lee,  1(55.  Letter  to  Doudinot, 
170.  Do.  to  Steuben,  192.  Ab.luction 
of  Clinton  prevented  bv.  4  )7.  One  of 
Committee,  505.  Ingratitude  of  U.  S. 
to,  681.  Effort  for  Steuben,  539,  540. 
Report,  541.  Inaugural  address  of 
Cincinnati,  570.  Eulogy  of  Greene, 
572. 

Hamilton-.  John  C  171. 

Hampton  Roads,  37->.  403. 

Hampshire,  195.  512. 

Hancock,  John,  97. 

Hand,  Gen.,  277,  656. 

Hanover  C.  II.,  377. 

Hardy's  Febky,  878. 

Harmer,  Col.,  121). 

Harbison,  Gen.,  471. 
Hartpord,  88,  231. 

Haskins,  Col.,  882. 

Havrlsbebg,  canonry  of,  CO.     Disposed  of, 

HAYEB8TBAW,  165. 
Hatley,  Madame,  029. 
IIa/.ev,  Col..  264,  300.     His  regiment  con- 
tinued. 828.     March  of,  490. 
Heath,  Maj.  Gen.,  503. 


Heciiingen,  Steuben  grand  marshal  of,  62, 

Hell  Gate,  593. 

Henderson,  Col.,  burning  of  his  house,  15$. 

Henry  Co.,  401. 

Henry,  Mr.,  102. 

Henry,  Patrick,  359. 

Henry,  Prince  of  Prussia,  534,  043. 
:  Herman,  5 S3. 
I  Heurkux,  1',  75. 

HlOHTSTOWN,  158. 

Hillsborough,   347,  362.      Cornwall  is    at, 
415. 

Hociikircii,  173,  043. 

Hop,  68. 

Hoiienzollern  Heciiingen,  Prince  of,  01. 

Holly,  Moust,  157. 

Hood,  Admiral,  455. 

Hopewell,  157. 

Hortalez,  Ploderique  &  Co.,  76. 

Hough,  L,  595,  003. 

Howard.  Lieut.  Col.,  507,  534. 

Howe,  Maj.  Gen.,  278,  50S. 

Huberts  burg,  Peace  of,  00. 

Hudson,  the,  453. 

IIl-ger,  Gen.,  309. 

Hulsen,  Gen  Yon,  54.    Wounded  at  Kun- 
ersdorf,  55. 


Idealism  in  Europe.  SI. 

Independence,  Declaration  oe,  its  spirit, 
88.     Anniversarv,  571. 

Indies  West.  3)5.  495,  507. 

INNES,  Col..  391. 

Inspector  General,  resolution  of  Congress 
(O  appoint,  121.  Conwav  made,  ib. 
Steuben  temporary,  122.  "  Plan  of  of- 
fice, 124.  Oiliee  degraded  by  Washing- 
ton's orders,  151.  Steuben's  memorial 
in  regard  to,  178.  Plan  of  office  by  <  \>n- 
gress,  192.  Plan  modified,  808.  Steu- 
ben's list  of  officers  for  this  department, 
314. 

Inspectors,  Sub,  125.  Assignment  to,  126. 
Duties  of  defined,  310.  Number  of  lim- 
ited, 485. 

Irving,  Washington,  quoted.  412.  Do., 
032. 

Izard,  Mr.,  2S7. 


Jackson,  204,  567,  626. 

Ja< qielin,  040. 

Jamaica.  517. 

•I  ames  River,  French  vessels  at,  405. 

Jamestown.  373. 

Jay,  Mr.,  110,  540,  5S1,  58 1,  594. 

Jay,  Mrs.,  680. 

Jefferson  Tiros.,  110.  Accused  of  neglect, 
351.  Opinion  of  expenses,  382.  Esti- 
mate of  Steuben,  838.  Congratulates 
Steuben,  420.  Appoints  Eairlie  Com- 
missioner, 031. 

Jerseys,  the,  490-495.     Cincinnati,  573. 

JOB .\st< in.  A  i. ex.,  555,  509. 

Jones's  Wood,  578. 

Joseph  11.,  Emperor,  00. 


fNDEX. 


731 


K. 


Kamschatka,  439. 

Kant,  Emanuel,  111. 

Kay.  battle  of.  55. 

Keith,  Lord,  173. 

Kent,  New,  403,  411,  423. 

King  William's  Co.,  455. 

King's  Ferry,  1G5,  223.     Bridge,  293,  494. 

KlEKPATRICK,  Capt.,  459. 

Knoblocii,  Gen..  56. 

Knox,  Gen.,  117.  Named  ia  orders  after 
Yorktown,  465.  Command  of  troops, 
524.  Candidate  for  Secretary  of  War,  526. 
Sword  to  Steuben,  526.  Meeting  at 
Philadelphia,  534.  Origin  of  Cincin- 
nati, 554.  Secretary  of  do.,  553.  Mem- 
ber of  Com.,  533.  Letter  in  regard  to 
order,  536.  Will  remain  Sec.  of  War, 
630. 

Knyphausen,  Gen.,  159.  Invades  N.  J., 
277. 

KuNERSDORF,  601. 

Kuntze,  Dr.,  5S2. 


Lafayette,  87.  Position  in  grand  maneu- 
ver, 129.  In  cabal,  ib.  Popularity  in 
the  arm  v.  235.  Goes  to  Muhlenberg's 
camp,  413.  Consulted  by  Steuben,  416. 
Ordered  South,  422.  •  Arrives,  427. 
Driven  back  by  Cornwallis,  423.  Re- 
tires to  Kacoon  Ford,  451.  Named  in 
orders  after  Yorktown,  465.  Letter  of 
compliment  to  Steuben,  470.  Cabal  re- 
ferred to,  472.  Talent  for  " arranging" 
facts,  475.  Order  of  Cincinnati,  564. 
Refuses  to  inaugurate  Steuben's  monu- 
ment, 608.  Allusion  to  his  arrival,  625. 
North's  allusion  to,  629. 

Lamb,  Mr.,  619. 

Lanc.vstkii,  Jui,  343,  500. 

Lands  hut,  643. 

Landsk  n  e outs,  645. 

Lanoborn,  Col.  Wm.,  447. 

Langoon,  Gen.,  95. 

Laboche,  646. 

L.v  Tbappe,  birth-place  of  Muhlenberg, 
353. 

Laurens,  Col.,  456. 

Laubens,  President,  75.  Steuben's  adviser, 
124.  Letter  from  Steuben.  133.  Letter 
to  Steuben,  1S7.    Referred  to,  542, 

Lauyaute,  Col.  Do  la,  609. 

Lawrence.  Mr.,  547. 

Lawson,  Gen.,  354,  373,"  435.  Joins  Steu- 
ben, 441.    Cited,  472. 

Lee,  Gen.,  in  cabal,  139.  Difficulty  with 
Steuben,  164.  Cabal  referred  to,  472. 
Council  of  war,  622.     Intrigues,  643. 

Lee,  Maj.,  205,  329.    Col.,  367,  446,  543. 

Lepine,  609. 

Leslie,  Gen  ,  leads  troops  to  Virginia,  3i  1. 

Lbydbs  Gazette,  596. 
Licking,  the,  575. 

Ligne,  Prince  De,  letter  to  Stenben,  66. 

Lincoln,  Gen.,  465,  491,  512.  Resignation, 
526. 

Lippe,  Count  De  la.  645. 

Livingston,  Chancellor,  532,  5s4,  612. 

Livingston,  Col.,  264. 


Livingston,  Gov.,  letter  to  Steuben,  220. 

Appealed  to,  540. 
London,  523. 
Long  15 ridge,  375. 
Long  Island,  296,  494. 
Long  Island  Sound,  299. 
Losanteville,  575. 
Lossing,  B.  J.,  604. 
Louisa  C.  H.,  443. 
Louisiana,  536. 

Louis  William,  Prince  of  Baden,  72. 
Louis  XV..  SO. 
Louis  XVI.,  wavering  in  regard  to  America, 

SO. 
Louvre,  the,  573. 
Lovell,  James  195,  236.     Compliments  to 

Steuben,  335. 
Lutiieu,  Martin.  111. 
LtrTTEBLon,  Henry  Emanuel,  5S2. 
Lynniiayf.v  Bay,  418. 
LtrzEfcNE,  Dr  la,  French  ambassador,  2M. 

Visits   Washington,  272.     Quoted,  568 

Named,  616. 


MaoEwen,  Thomas,  574. 

Madison,  President,  oilers  Fairlio  Adjutant 

Generalship,  631. 
Madrid,  533. 
Manchesteb,  374. 
m an ii ei m,  99. 
Mappa,  593. 
Marshall,  Judge,  121. 
Maryland,  417.     Cincinnati,  573. 
Massachusetts  Line,  memorial  from  State, 

495.     Cincinnati,  573. 
Mathews,  Gen.,  invades  Virginia,  870. 
Matthews.  272. 

Mauduit,  Chev.  Du  PlcssisDe,  162. 
Maxwell,  Gen.,  277. 
Mayb,  John  V<>x,  Gen,  52. 
MoDoro  all,  Gen.,  Treas.  of  Cincinnati,  553. 

N.  Y.  Regiment,  681. 
MoKeon.  102. 
Meade,  E.,  391,  472,  609. 
Mechunck  Creek,  451. 
Mexico,  82. 
Miami,  the,  577. 

MlDDLEBROOK,  222. 
MlDDLETOWN,  160. 

Mifflin,  Fort,  623. 

Mifflin,  Gen.,  in  cabal,  139.    Do.,  472. 

Minerva,  523. 

Mir  a  beau,  553. 

Mississippi,  the,  536. 

Mohawk,  the,  522.  593. 

Monmouth,  15S.  Battle  of,  159.  Distribu- 
tion of  forces  at,  16i).  North  present  at, 
626.  Fairlio  present  at,  631.  Steuben's 
skill  at,  643. 

Montbarey,  Prince  De,  64.  Steuben  vis- 
its, 72.     Copy  of  Beg.,  221. 

Montgomery  Co.,  401. 

Montgomery,  Gen.,  439. 

MoNTHlEir,  M.  De,  75. 

Moore,  Mr..  619. 

Mobgan,  Col.,  362. 

Morris,  Col.,  346,  416. 

Morris,  Gorvr.itNF.rit,  letter  from  Wash- 
ington to,  167.  Reply,  177.  Member  of 
German  Society,  582. 


'32 


NDEX 


Morris,  Lewis,  620. 

Morkis  Robert,  75,  640. 

Morristown,  616. 

Mount  Vernon.  346,  879. 

Mud  Island,  221. 

Muhlenberg,  FRED.  A.,  551,  532. 

Muhlenberg,  Gen.,  163,  355.  Sketch  of, 
353.  Diil  not  command  at  Petersburg, 
424.    Member  of  German  Soc,  5S2. 

Muhlenberg,  Henry  M.,  35S. 

Mulligan,  J.  W.,  5S5,  591,  593. 

Mum kord,  Col.,  shocking  carelessness  of, 
397. 

Muskets,  price  of,  117. 

Muskingum,  the,  577. 


N, 


Nansimond  River,  379. 

Napier,  Sir  Wm.,  opinion  of  In  regard  to 

American,  victories,  150. 
Naples,  645. 
Napoleon,  226. 
Narrows,  the,  593. 
Nash,  Gov.,  443,  449. 
Nelson,  Gen.,  355,  372. 
Neuville,  Col.  De  la,  166.  Resigns  and  goes 

to  France,  178.     Insubordination,  474. 
Newark,  284. 
Newburg,  289.  490.     Letter,  534.     Major 

Burnett  dies  at,  574. 
New  Haven,  accouterments  at,  288. 
Newport,  300. 
Newport  News,  406. 
New  York,  hostile  forces  at,  294.    Cruising 

station,  406.    Natural  strength  of,  493. 

State,  495.      Evacuation  of  city,  524. 

Congress    at,    539.      Cincinnati,    573. 

Freedom  of  city  to  Steuben,  577. 
Ninety-Six.  451. 

NORMANN,  217. 

North,  Wm.,  incorrect  statement  of,  58. 
First  meeting  with  Steuben,  104.  Ac- 
count of  Steuben's  inspection.  129.  Do., 
227.  Anecdote  of  Steuben  and  Wayne, 
457.  Retrospection,  490.  Facts  in  re- 
gard to  want  of  cash,  500.  Eulogizes 
Steuben,  503.  Appointed  Inspector, 
524.  Cincinnati,  567.  Lives  with  Steu- 
ben. 578.  Legacy,  608.  Named,  608. 
Sketch  of,  626. 

North  River,  165,  298,  624. 

Norwalk,  234. 

Nuremberg,  53. 


O'Hara,  Gen.,  460. 
Ohio,  the.  575. 
Oneida  County,  576. 
Onondaoa  Lake,  595. 
Orleans,  Duke  of,  609. 
Orleans,  New.  101,  583. 
Oswego,  the,  595. 


Paca,  Mr.,  192. 
Pagan's  Creek,  423. 
Page,  Mr.,  150,  547. 


Pagenstecher,  Baron  De,  68. 

Paoli,  646. 

Paramus,  165. 

Paris,  Steuben  arrives  in,  67. 

Parker.  Col..  378.    Joins  Muhlenberg,  415. 

Passy,  Steuben  meets  Dr.  Franklin  at,  70. 

Paterson,  Gen.,  163,  285. 

Paulus  Hook,  298. 

Peabody,  272. 

Peale,  the  painter,  620. 

Pedee,  the,  851,  400. 

Pemberton,  Capt.,  570. 

Pennsylvania,  270.     Cincinnati,  578. 

Penobscot,  294. 

Peru,  82. 

Peter  III.  of  Russia.  57. 

Petersburg,  372,  402,  422.  Engagement 
near,  424. 

Peters,  Richard,  letter,  104.  Replv  to 
Steuben,  146.  Do.,  137.  Jocose  letter 
of  reproof  to  Steuben.  218.  Appealed  to, 
540.  Friend  of  Steuben,  628.  Commen- 
dation, 647. 

Pfau,  Von,  60. 

Philadelphia,  111.  Evacuation  of,  150. 
Letter  in  regard  to  armv,  510.    Do.,  515. 

Phillips,  Gen.,  414,  427.    Dies,  423. 

Philosophy,  power  of  in  France,  82. 

Pickering,  Timo.,  letter  to  Steuben,  217. 

Pierce,  Ex-Pres.,  229. 

Pinto,  Major  Count,  60. 

Pitt  Fort,  362. 

Pittsylvania,  401. 

Plank  Fort,  634. 

Platen,  56. 

Platt,  Maj.,  570. 

P  L.YUEN,  54. 

Pocahontas,  Bridge  of,  424. 

Poland,  79. 

Pompton,  278. 

Pontiere,  De,  76,  608. 

Popham,  500,  609,  618. 

Popish  Plots  against  Steuben,  63. 

Portland,  574. 

Portsmouth,  871,  37S,  452. 

Portugal,  645. 

Posey,  Maj.,  435. 

Post,  John,  590. 

Potomac,  the,  877. 

Potsdam,  515. 

powhattan  court  house,  424. 

Prague,  siege  of,  45,  601,  643. 

Preakness,  2S5. 

Prescott,  234. 

Prince  Edward  C.  II.,  432,  443. 

Prince  George's  Co.,  397. 

Princess  Ann  County,  411. 

Princeton,  548. 

Providence,  231. 

Provost,  Mr.,  578,  627. 

Prussia,  46.    Fame  of  her  army,  48.    Cadet 

houses,  515.    War  against,  596. 
Publicola,  589. 
Putnam,  Gen.,  534. 
Putnam,  R.,  566. 


Quakerhill,  188. 
Quebec,  300  498. 
Queen,  the  Indian,  618. 
Quay,  South,  379. 


INDEX 


733 


Racoon  Ford,  451. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  609. 

Rappauanock,  the,  451. 

Reading,  99. 

Realism  in  America,  84 

Recruits,  apportionment  of,  255.  Rendez- 
vous of  in  Virginia,  365.  Desertion, 
429.     Disappointment  in  regard  to,  434. 

Red » an ic,  221. 

Reddock  Mills,  379. 

Reed,  Pres.,  183.  Invites  Steuben  to  Phil- 
adelphia, 221. 

Reformation,  results  of  in  change  of  so- 
ciety, 40.     Relation  to  Am.  Rev.,  111. 

Regulations  for  discipline,  2)0,  et  86$. 
Washington's  opinion  of,  214.  Opin- 
ions of  various  officers,  22). 

Re,  Island  of,  609. 

Remsen,  578,  603. 

Rennselaer,  Stephen  Van,  532,  593. 

Revolution,  American,  news  of  in  France, 
80.  Overrated  abroad,  84.  Peculiarity 
of,  107.     French,  597. 

Rhode  Island,  495,  567,  623. 

Richmond,  316,  373.  Lafayette  reaches, 
422.    Legislature  removes  from,  433. 

Rivanna,  the,  440. 

Riviere.  N.  A.,  555. 

Roanoke,  the,  352,  436. 

Boohambra.it,  Count,  293.  407,  56k  His 
arrival,  and  change  of  Fleury's  service, 
623. 

Rockingham  Co.,  402. 

Rockijridge  Co.,  402,  435. 

Rodney,  625. 

Romanai,  M.  De,  103,  608. 

Rose  Island,  625. 

Rossbach,  52. 

Rousseau,  82. 

Ruits,  Captain  Von,  60 

Russell,  Lieut,  363. 

Russia,  645. 


Salisbury,  363. 

Salis,  Von,  645. 

Sandy  Hook,  157. 

Sandy  Point,  406,  423. 

Sansculottes,  120. 

Saratoga,  101,  343,  523. 

Sardinia,  King  of  invites  Steuben,  63. 

Sargent,  Maj.,506,  575. 

Savannah  taken,  312     Possession  of,  495. 

Scammel,  Col.,  126.     Letter  of  to  Sullivan 

129.    Reports  to  Steuben,  231. 
Schermeruorn,  Mrs.,  578. 
Schill,  646. 
Sciilosser,  estimate  of  Franklin,  89. 

SdlOMBERG,  645. 

Schuyler,  Fort,  578,  615,  634. 

Schuyler,  Gen.,  272.  Success  of  Saratoga 
due  to,  313.  Cincinnati,  570.  At  Al- 
bany, 590. 

Schuyler,  Peter,  583. 

Schuylkill,  617. 

Schweidnitz,  surrender  of,  53.  Siege  of, 
456,  643. 

Scuweiun,  Field  Marshal,  Count, 

Scipio,  569. 


Scott,  Brig.  Gen.,  dispatch  from  Steuben 

to,  153. 
Scott,  Jos.  W.,  574. 
Segue,  Count,  extract  from  memoirs,  86. 

Do.,  478. 
Senf,  Col.,  372. 
Seven  Years1  War,  38.    Conclusion  of,  58. 

Allies  in,  596. 
Seybothen,  Col.  Baron,  462. 

SlIAKSPEARE,  111. 

Shaw,  Captain,  556. 

Sheaf,  Miss,  640. 

Shenandoah  Co.,  402. 

Siieruorn,  Col.,  264. 

Silesia,  489. 

Simcoe,  440,  442.     Opinion  of  Steuben,  444. 

Singleton,  Captain,  392. 

Sizek,  Samuel,  292,  591. 

Sleepy  Hole,  378. 

Smallwood,  Gen.,  163.  Insults  De  Kalb, 
239.  Arrives  at  Petersburg,  375.  Con- 
sulted by  Steuben  about  reinforcements, 
402. 

Smith,  Adam,  111. 

Smith,  Col.,  528. 

Smith,  Mr.,  192,  547,  549,  620.  Sketch  of, 
635. 

Smith,  Wm.  S,  567,  573,  608. 

Smithfield,  378. 

Society,  American,  estimate  of  in  Europe, 
85. 

Soltikow,  55. 

Sorel,  the,  522. 

Spain,  644. 

Spain,  King  of,  5S6. 

Spencer,  Col.,  264. 

Spencer,  Earl  of,  64. 

Spottsyi.vania,  391. 

Springfield,  93.     Burned,  278. 

Sprout,  Col.,  126. 

Stagg,  Captain,  523. 

Stanvvix,  Fort,  595. 

Stanton,  435. 

Star  Hill,  590. 

Staten  Island,  296,494. 

St.  Clair,  Gen.,  575. 

St.  Esprit,  538. 

Stella,  Count,  52. 

Steuben,  Augustine  Von,  42. 

Steuben,  Ernest  Nicholas  Von.  41. 

Steuben,  Fred.  William,  292,  594. 

Steuben,  Frederick  William  Augustus 
Henry  Ferdinand  Von,  career  as  a 
boy,  33.  Family,  39.  Born,  44.  Edu- 
cation, 45.  Letter  to  Von  Donners- 
mark,  49.  Wounded  at  Kunersdorf, 
50.  Sent  as  prisoner  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, 57.  Extreme  popularity  there, 
5S.  Sent  into  Silesia,  59.  Personal 
pupil  of  Frederick,  60.  Gifts  from 
Fred.,  ib.  Quits  Prussian  service,  ib. 
Appointed  grand  marshal  at  Heching- 
en,  01.  Made  Gen.  of  Circle  of  Suabia, 
64.  Fails  to  enter  the  German  empe- 
ror's service,  6o.  Goes  to  England  via 
France,  67.  Advised  by  St.  "Germain 
to  go  to  America,  68.  Declines,  71. 
Letter  to  Hamilton,  73.  Title  In  Eu- 
rope, 74.  Sails  for  America,  75.  Mo- 
tives, 77.  Treatment  by  the  French 
court,  91.  Letter  to  Frank.,  95.  Do.  to 
Congress,  ib.  Do.  to  Washington.  96. 
Dinner  in   Boston,   97.      Landlord    iu 


N  DEX. 


Steuhen,  Baron  Ynn—cojitinued. 

Mass.,  99.  Lodging  in  Conn.,  100.  Let- 
ter to  Hancock,  102.  "Waited  upon  by 
com.  of  Congress,  lb.  Entertained  by 
Congress,  103.  Account  of  the  army  at 
Valley  Fprge,  114.  Costume  dinner  at 
Valley  Fbrge,  120.  Accepts  temporary 
inspectorship,  122.  Method  of  Inspec- 
tion, 126.  Estimate  of  by  Scammel,  123. 
Do.  by  North,  ib.  Daily  habit,  180. 
Washington  eulogizes,  1:30.  Appointed 
inspector  general  by  Congress,  137. 
Jeaiousy  of  officers  against,  140.  Sketch 
of  his  own  plan,  144.  First  present  at 
council  of  war,  149.  Starts  for  York, 
151.  Dispatch  to  Scott,  153.  Report  to 
Washington,  ib.  Loss  of  Steuben's  hat, 
159.  On  left  wing  at  Monmouth,  100. 
Ditiiculty  between  Lee  and,  1(H.  Ap- 
pointed 'to  conduct  Lee's  division,  105. 
(iocs  to  Philadelphia,  177.  Letter  to 
Washington,  178.  Memorial  in  regard 
to  inspectorship,  ib.  Letter  to  Pres. 
Reed,  183.  Do.  to  Washington,  190. 
Do.  to  Jas.  Lovell,  195.  Book  of  regu- 
lations, 101  Letter  to  Washington  in 
regard  to  reg..  215.  Receives  commen- 
dation from  Governors,  etc.,  220;  Ap- 
plication to  Board  of  War,  222.  Joins 
army  in  N.  J.,  ib.  Paying  expenses,  ib. 
Taught  the   use   of  the.   bayonet,  229, 


Meets  I)e  la  Luzerne,  201.     Popularity"   St.  Martin,  609, 


with  the  army,  205.  Naming  a  chi 
"ib.  Financial  affairs,  207.  "Goes  to 
Philadelphia  to  propose  to  Congress  the 
formation  of  the  army  on  permanent 
basis,  241.  Disappointment  in  regard 
to  arms,  2S7.  Change  of  name  by  a 
soldier,  290.  Proposal  of  future  opera- 
tions, 290.  Second  do.,  802.  Dissatis- 
faction with  plan  of  Congress,  822. 
Opinion  of  new  formation  of  the  army, 
833.  Domand  on  Virginia,  05:'..  Plan 
to  prevent  desertion,  00k  Sickness 
from  vexation,  et3.,  303.  Beports  inva- 
sion of  Virginia,  072.  Of  Nelson,  330. 
Confidence  between  Steuben  and  Jeffer- 
son, 882.  Gets  into  a^a^on,  339.  A 
recruit,  890.  Letter  to  llelson,  412. 
Proposes  to  meet  CornwaUjs,  415.  Dis- 
couraged, 419.  Commands  in  engage- 
ment near  Petersburg,  424.  Jloins  La- 
fayette. 482.  Complains  to  Mr.  Speaker 
Gary,  409.  Not  surprised  by  Simcoe, 
418.  ('ensured  by  North  Carolina  gen- 
tlemen, 45t.  Again  sick,  453.  Re- 
ceives command,  450.  Covering  a  re- 
treat. 4.57.  Contests  honor  with  Lafay- 
ette, 4>S.  Favorite  charger,  401.  Offi- 
cial relations,  466.  Demands  official 
letter  from  Gov.  Nelson,  471.  Contrast 
with  Lafayette,  431.  Returns  to  the 
North,  184.  Appointed  Insp.  gen.,  438. 
Opinion  in  regard  to  New  York,  190. 
Extract  from  inspection  book.  107.  <  'on- 
tinued  disappointment, 502.  Letter  from    Tioklkb,  Timothy,  5S5 


Steuuen,  Baron  Yon— continued. 

555.  Member  of  Com.,  568.  New  York 
State  Soc ,  568.  Embarrassment,  57(5. 
Besides  in  New  York,  530.     By  Duer, 

531.  Whale  or  eel?  5S2.  A  Federalist, 
534.  Regent  of  university,  585.  Leaves 
New  York,  595.  Terror  of  the  captain, 
597.  Steuben  best  land  in  the  world, 
593.     Death   and   burial,    000.      Grave, 

002.  inscription  on  do.,  604  Of  Du- 
ponceau,  010,  611.  Of  Walker,  014 
North's  i)un,  027.  Otfense  with  Fair- 
lie.  000.  Personal  appearance  and  char- 
acter, 007.  Lieut,  (ribbons,  033.  Steu- 
ben's kindness,  009.  The  indignant 
cook,  041.  Military  character,  042. 

Bteubbn  Hill,  590. 

Steuhen,  Jonathan,  290. 

Steuben,  Wiliiel.u  Auoustise,  42. 

Steube,  Stoebe,  Stoyben,  39. 

St.  Germain,  Count  De,  visited  by  Steuben, 

03.  Conversation  regarding  Am.  army, 
75. 

Stevens,  Brig.  Gen.,  302. 

Stewart,  Col.,  4s0,  500. 

Stirling,  Maj.  Gen.  Lord,  165.     Position  in 

grand  maneuver,  139.     Commands  left 

wing  at  Monmouth,  100. 
St.  Johns,  490,  520. 
St.  Lawrence,  300. 
St.  Louis,  Cross  of,  504. 


Stony  Point,  225,  223,  023.  Steuben's  skill 
at,  043. 

Street,  Broad,  5G9.  Fifty-seventh,  573. 
Courtland,  530.  Liberty,  580.  Wall, 
580.  Hanover,  530.  Fulton,  530.  Broad- 
way, 530,  595.  Nassau,  530,  595,  604. 
Maiden  Lane,  530,  604.  Whitehall,  595. 
John,  004.     Front,  017. 

Stuyvesant.  Gov.,  032. 

StiAiiiA,  Circle  of,  64. 

Buff-kens,  204. 

Suffolk,  37  3,  405. 

Sullivan,  Cxcn.  John,  129.  Critical  posi- 
tion in  R.  I.,  130.  Cited,  339.  Cincin- 
nati, 563. 

Sumner,  Gen.,  450. 

Susquehanna,  the.  522. 


T. 


Table,  665. 

Taeleton,  400,  41),  4t2. 

Taylor,  John,  593. 

Taylors  Ferry,  352,  402,  430. 

Teiinant.    Col.,    120,    409.       Inspector    of 

Southern    army,    436.      Named,    003. 

Sketch  of,  620. 
Teutonic  Heroes,  111. 
Texas,  53S. 
Tiiac  her,  report  of    Steuben's   inspection, 

22ii. 
Thompson,  Sec,  542. 


Officers,  519.  Last  duty  in  service.  52 
Treats  with  Haldlman,  522.  Service  at 
Phila.,  521.  Reply  to  Washington's  let- 
ter, 525.  Secretaryship,  520.  Gold- 
hilted  sword,  52S.  i'o-iiion  in  private 
litv,  535.  Response  of  Sec.  Treasury  to 
his  memorial,  51 !.    Order  of  Cincinnati, 


TlLLOBY,  Dr.,  5-0. 

Tilly,  M.  De,  4o5. 
Tippo  Saiiib,  82. 
ToMiNY  Hill, 625. 
Tobgau,  643. 
Trenton,  588,548. 


Flimsy  excuse, 


INDEX. 


35 


U. 


United  States,  condition  and  wants  of,  OS. 
Congress  of,  100.  Indebtedness  to  Steu- 
ben, 490.     Ingratitude,  5)1. 

Utica,  578,  590. 


Valley  Forge,  9 1.     Encampment  at,    105. 

Fleury  at,  02:3. 
Varus,  688. 

Vebgennrs,  Count  De,  74,  221. 
Verdier,  Lieut.,  442. 
Verneb,  Jount,  594. 
Vebplanck's  Point,  22S,  439.     V.'s  House 

556. 
Versailles,  5SS. 

VlLLEFBANCHE,  009. 

Yimng,  Mr.,  547. 

Viomenil,  Baron  De,  407,  457. 

Virginia,  804.     Stale  of  affairs  in,  851.     In-  j 
vasion  of  by  Matthews,  870.     D.>.  bv 
Leslie,   371.      Do.   by  Arnold,  ib.     No  | 
money  and  no  credit,  410. 

Vogbl,  Carl.  98. 

Voltaire,  598. 

Vox  Foi-uli,  569. 


W. 


WADSwoRTn,  Mr .  547. 

Walker,  Captain  B.,  180.  Steuben's  rep. 
at  II.  Qu.,  274.  Lives  with  Steuben, 
530.  Removes  remains  of  Steuben,  602. 
Legacy,  608.  Sketch  of,  61*.  Death, 
615.  Secretary  of  Gov.  of  New  York, 
020. 

Wall's  Bridge,  428. 

Walsh,  Robert,  010. 

Wabbasquiaok  Bay,  872. 

Wabtha,  passage  of  Platen's  army  over  the, 
56. 

Warwick,  075. 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  64. 

Washington  Co.,  401. 

Washington,  George,  75.  Courtesy  to 
Steuben,  105  Letters  to  Congress,  ib. 
Greatness  of  in  the  Rev.,  103.  Not  to 
be  compared  with  any  modern  con- 
queror, 110.  Teutonic  character,  112. 
Orders  of,  133,  et  zeq.  Report  to  Con- 
gress. 185.  Letter  to  Morris,  167.  Do. 
to  Congress,  ib.,  103.  Opinion  of  for- 
eigners in  the  army.  171.  Letter  to 
Steuben.  191.  Criticism  of  regulations, 
214.  Takes  up  winter  quarters  at  M>r- 
ristown,  237.  Seeks  pecuniary  aid  for 
Steuben,  ib.  Opinion  of  basis  of  the 
army,  251.  Forced  inactivity  of,  293. 
Sagacity  in  use  of  men.  330.  Appoints 
Greene  successor  of  Gates.  344.  living's 
Life  of  quoted,  412.  Misleads  Clinton, 
453.    Gives  Steuben  a  command,  450. 


Washington,  George — continued. 

Wisdom  in  appointing  Lafayette,  473. 

Approves    Steuben's     new    plan,    485. 

Meditates  attack   on   New   York,  492. 

General    order,    498.      Ins! ructions    to 

Steuben  as  missionary  to  Canada,  520. 

Enters  New  York,  524.     Last  letter  in 

service,  524.     Urges   upon   Congress  a 

settlement  with  officers,  532.    Newburg 

difficulty,  584.     President  of  Cincinnati, 

558.     Inauguration,  585. 
Washington,  "Mrs.,  at  headquarters,   120. 

At  dinner,  582.    Learns  chess,  619. 
Watebee,  352. 
Wayne,   Gen.,  dispatched   to  Jersey,  156. 

At  Monmouth,  161.     Monument  to,  229. 

On  the  march  southward,  430.   Bravery 

at  Jamestown,  452. 
Webb,  Col.,  264. 

Weedon,  Gen.,  375,  877,  406,  416. 
Weilheim,  Steuben's  country  seat  at,  63. 
Weissenfels,  T.  Yon,  532. 
Westham,  373. 
Westmobeland  Co.,  577. 
Wkstovkr,  873,  424,423. 
West  Point,  227,500.  School  at.  513.  Fish's 

letter  from,  088.    Steuben's  skill  at,  043. 
Whips  any,  278. 
White  Plains,  105.  406. 
Wickokf,  burning  of  his  house.  158. 
Wildebming,    Wm.,    584      Named,    60S. 
William  of  Obangk  (two),  111,  045. 

WlLLlAMSBUBG,  452. 

William,  Steuben's  servant,  599. 
Williams,  Col.,  120,  303. 
Willis,  Maj.,  373. 
Willis's  Creek,  443. 
Willoughby  Point,  372. 
Wilmington,   128.     Cornwall  is  arrives   at, 
427.      Fleury    commands    division    at, 

Wilson,  Gen., 355. 
Wilton,  423. 
Windsor,  New,  408,  507. 
WINN8BOROUGH,  800. 
WiTiiEKSi-ooN,  Dr.,  102,  540,  542. 
Wittenberg,  111. 
Woodruff,  Simeon,  598. 
Woodstock,  359. 
Wright  Mills.  166. 


1. 


Yadkin,  852,  400. 
Yates,  Chief  dust.  Rob..  631. 
York,  90.    Steuben  goes  to,  151,  848.     En- 
gagement at.  589. 

York,  Field  Marshal,  02. 
York  Island,  200. 
York  RlVER,  428. 
Yorktown,  410,  447,  453,  464. 


Zabriskie,  John,  577. 


-2C- 


14  DAY  USE 

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Tel.  No.  642-3405 
Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


Dm 


,n*    of    f 


■RTDQ1   JAN  2     74 -3  PM J- 


AUG  15  1980 


j§> 


C\" 


KAY  1 


01990 


LD21A-30m-10,,73 
(R3728sl0)476 — A-30 


General  Lit 
University  of  O 


ivy  or  *-i      . 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

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